Electrogenerated chemiluminescence sensor for formaldehyde based on Ru(bpy)32+-doped silica nanoparticles modified Au electrode

► A new electrogenerated chemiluminescence sensor was built to detecte formaldehyde. ► The ECL signal was enhanced by using silica nano-beads as the carrier of Ru(bpy)32+ species. ► This sensor could be applied to determine formaldehyde directly in real samples.