Near-Infrared Catalytic Chemiluminescence System based on Zinc Gallate Nanoprobe for Hydrazine Sensing

To the deep tissue penetration and ultra-low background, developing near-infrared (NIR) chemiluminescence probes for human health and environmental safety has attracted more and more attention, but it remains a huge challenge. Herein, a novel NIR chemiluminescence (CL) system was rationally designed and developed, utilizing Cr³⁺-activated ZnGa₂O₄ (ZGC) nanoparticles as a catalytic luminophore via hypochlorite (NaClO) activation for poisonous target (hydrazine, N₂H₄) detection. With superior optical performance and unique catalytic structure of ZGC nanoparticles, the fabricated ZGC-NaClO-N₂H₄ CL system successfully demonstrated excellent NIR emission centered at 700 nm, fast response, and high sensibility (limit of detection down to 0.0126 μM). Further experimental studies and theoretical calculations found the cooperative catalytic chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer mechanism in the ZGC-NaClO-N₂H₄ system. Remarkably, the ZGC-based NIR CL system was further employed for N₂H₄ detection in a complicated matrix involving bioimaging and real water samples, thereby opening a new way as a highly reliable and accurate tool in biomedical and environmental monitoring applications.