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Evaluation of quantum dots applied as switchable layer in a light-controlled electrochemical sensor

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Abstract

Gold electrodes with switchable conductance are created by coating the gold surface with different colloidal quantum dots. For the quantum dot immobilization, a dithiol compound was used. By polarizing the electrode and applying a light pointer, local photocurrents were generated. The performance of this setup was characterized for a variety of different nanoparticle materials regarding drift and signal-to-noise ratio. We varied the following parameters: quantum dot materials and immobilization protocol. The results indicate that the performance of the sensor strongly depends on how the quantum dots are bound to the gold electrode. The best results were obtained by inclusion of an additional polyelectrolyte film, which had been fabricated using layer-by-layer assembly.

Gold electrode with switchable conductance created by the coating the gold surface with different colloidal quantum dots

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG grants Pa 794/3-1 and Li 706/2-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Philipps University Marburg, 35037, Marburg, Germany

    Zhao Yue, Waqas Khalid, Marco Zanella, Azhar Zahoor Abbasi, Andrea Pfreundt, Pilar Rivera Gil & Wolfgang J. Parak

  2. Department of Electronics, Nankai University, 300071, Tianjin, China

    Zhao Yue

  3. Biosystems Technology, University of Applied Sciences Wildau, 1574, Wildau, Germany

    Kirsten Schubert & Fred Lisdat

  4. Wissenschaftliches Zentrum für Materialwissenschaften, Philipps University Marburg, 35037, Marburg, Germany

    Wolfgang J. Parak

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  1. Zhao Yue
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Correspondence to Wolfgang J. Parak.

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Zhao Yue and Waqas Khalid contributed equally to this study.

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Yue, Z., Khalid, W., Zanella, M. et al. Evaluation of quantum dots applied as switchable layer in a light-controlled electrochemical sensor. Anal Bioanal Chem 396, 1095–1103 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3347-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3347-y

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