A novel
zeolitic tetrazolate framework (ZTF-8) has been synthesized
by solvent-free heat-assisted (70 °C) mechanochemical grinding
of zinc acetate and 5-methyl tetrazole in the presence of NaOH powder.
The structure of ZTF-8 adopts the zeolitic sodalite (SOD) topology
with uncoordinated N-heteroatom sites and resembles the structure
of the well-known zeolitic imidazole framework ZIF-8. ZTF-8 is exceptionally
stable in 0.1 M aqueous acid and base solutions for 60 days at 25
°C. The unique structure with uncoordinated N-heteroatom active
sites and exceptional stability of ZTF-8 facilitated the electrocatalytic
oxidation of dopamine to dopamine quinone at neutral pH. Without any
postsynthetic modification, ZTF-8 is directly used for the facile
electrochemical detection of dopamine over a wide range of concentrations
(5–550 μM) with a high sensitivity (2410.8 μA mM–1 cm–2). It also demonstrated promising
selectivity over other interferents of similar oxidation potential,
such as ascorbic acid and uric acid. The DFT study revealed that the
ZTF-8 framework has a higher binding energy (−145.07 kJ/mol)
and stronger interaction with dopamine than its isostructural ZIF-8
structure (−130.42 kJ/mol).