A multifunctional nanoporous carbon platform derived from a zeolitic imidazolate framework for sensing and enzyme-like catalysis

Nanoporous carbon materials have attracted significant attention in the fields of sensing and catalysis owing to their unique reticular structure, designable composition and pore size. In this study, a multifunctional nanoporous carbon platform with the integration of thermal transformation, thermal activation and sonochemical exfoliation is proposed, which can be applied in electrochemical analysis, enzyme-like catalysis and fluorescence analysis. Using zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) as self-templates, N-doped nanoporous carbon was prepared via pyrolysis. Next, the as-prepared intermediate carbon material was transformed into four- to eight-layer carbon nanosheets via sonochemical exfoliation. The carbon nanosheets exhibited high electrical conductivity, electrochemical activity and dual enzyme-like catalytic properties owing to their high graphitization, large surface area, doped N and pore size. The resulting nanosheets can be used as precursors for the synthesis of quantum dots with green photoluminescence for fluorescence analysis. The multifunctional nanoporous carbon platform shows great potential for sensing. Furthermore, the fabrication procedure provides a new opportunity for devising carbon materials with special functions. A multifunctional nanoporous carbon platform with the integration of thermal transformation, thermal activation and sonochemical exfoliation is proposed for electrochemical analysis, enzyme-like catalysis and fluorescence analysis.