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Enhanced charge separation efficiency of sulfur-doped TiO2 nanorod arrays for an improved photoelectrochemical glucose sensing performance

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Abstract

Improving the electron–hole separation efficiency and accelerating the reaction kinetics of semiconductors are effective methods for improving the photoelectric catalytic activity of TiO2. In this study, sulfur-doped TiO2 (S–TiO2) nanorod arrays grown on a fluorine-doped SnO2 transparent conductive glass were successfully prepared using a microwave-assisted method for the photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing of glucose. The charge separation efficiency on S–TiO2 was evaluated by subjecting the prepared material to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, PEC measurements, and theoretical calculations based on density functional theory. The results clearly showed that the sulfur impurity state could not only reduce the bandgap but also serve as “stairs” to facilitate the electron transfer. Sulfur atoms that were successfully doped into TiO2 significantly promote the separation of the photogenerated carriers and improve the photocatalytic activity of the photoelectrode. Consequently, excellent glucose-detection sensitivities of 54 and 19 μA mM−1 cm−2 were achieved for fragments with sizes of 0.1–1.5 and 2–12 mM, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81860373, 21673097, 82060386), the Finance Science and Technology Project of Hainan Province (No. 2019RC221), the Ningxia Fostering Program for Innovative Leading Talents in Science and Technology (KJT2017003), CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (No. 2019-I2M-5-023), Research and Cultivation Fund of Hainan Medical University (No. 19).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Automobile Materials (Jilin University), Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanyuan Wang, Nan Li, Haixin Zhao & **aotian Li

  2. School of Tropical Medicine and Laboratory Medicine, Key Laboratory of Emergency and Trauma of Ministry of Education, Research Unit of Island Emergency Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (No. 2019RU013), Hainan Medical University, Haikou, 571199, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanyuan Wang, Li Yin, Jie Wu, Na He & Qiang Wu

  3. Key Laboratory of Energy Resource and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base of Natural Gas Conversion, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, 750021, People’s Republic of China

    **aoyong Lai

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  1. Yuanyuan Wang
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  2. Li Yin
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  3. Jie Wu
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  4. Nan Li
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Wang, Y., Yin, L., Wu, J. et al. Enhanced charge separation efficiency of sulfur-doped TiO2 nanorod arrays for an improved photoelectrochemical glucose sensing performance. J Mater Sci 57, 1362–1372 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06617-3

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