Codoping g-C3N4 with boron and graphene quantum dots: Enhancement of charge transfer for ultrasensitive and selective photoelectrochemical detection of dopamine

Longhui Zheng, Haobo Zhang, Miae Won, Eunji Kim, Mingle Li, Jong Seung Kim

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    25 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The development of superior photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensors for biosensing has become a major objective of PEC research. However, conventional PEC-active materials are typically constrained by a weak photocurrent response owing to their limited surface-active sites and high electron-hole recombination rate. Here, a boron and graphene quantum dots codoped g-C3N4 (named GBCN) as PEC sensor for highly sensitive dopamine (DA) detection was fabricated. GBCN exhibited the greatest photocurrent response and PEC activity compared to free g-C3N4 and g-C3N4 doped with boron. The proposed PEC sensor for DA determination exhibited a broad linear range (0.001–800 μM) and a low detection limit (0.96 nM). In particular, a sensitivity up to 10.3771 μA/μM/cm2 was seen in the case of GBCN. The high PEC activity can be attributed to the following factors: (1) the boron and graphene quantum dots co-doping significantly increased the specific surface area of g-C3N4, providing more adsorption sites for DA; (2) the dopants extended the absorption intensity of g-C3N4, red-shifting the absorption from 470 to 540 nm; and (3) the synergism of boron and graphene quantum dots efficiently boosted the photogenerated electrons migration from the conduction band of g-C3N4 to graphene quantum dots, facilitating charge separation. In addition, GBCN also exhibited good anti-interference ability and stability. This research may shed light on the creation of a highly sensitive and selective PEC platform for detecting biomolecules.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number115050
    JournalBiosensors and Bioelectronics
    Volume224
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2023 Mar 15

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work is supported by the Youth Program of National Natural Science of China (Grant no. 22102051, L.Z. ), the Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (Grant no. 202300410211, L.Z. ), the Special Fund for Topnotch Talents in Henan Agricultural University (Grant no. 30500806 and 30500922 , L.Z.) and the Science and Technology Innovation Foundation of Henan Agricultural University (Grant no. KJCX2020A07 , L.Z.). We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from the National Research Foundation of Korea (CRI project no. 2018R1A3B1052702 and 2019M3E5D1A01068998 , J.S.K) and the Brain Pool Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (Grant No. 2020H1D3A1A02080172 , M.L.)

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2022

    Keywords

    • Co-doping
    • Dopamine
    • g-CN
    • Photoelectrochemical sensor

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Biotechnology
    • Biophysics
    • Biomedical Engineering
    • Electrochemistry

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