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Effect of perylene assembly shapes on photoelectrochemical properties and ultrasensitive biosensing behaviors toward dopamine

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Abstract

In this study, a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor based on perylene diimide derivatives (PDIs) was developed for the ultrasensitive quantification of dopamine (DA). PDIs were able to form self-assembled semiconductor nanostructures by strong π-π stacking, suitable for photoactive substances. Moreover, the shape of the PDI significantly affected the PEC properties of these nanostructures. The results showed that amino PDI with two-dimensional (2D) wrinkled layered nanostructures exhibited superior PEC properties relative to one-dimensional (1D) nanorods and fiber-based nanostructures (methyl and carboxyl PDIs). Based on these results, a mechanism for PEC sensor action was then proposed. The presence of 2D amino-PDI resulted in accelerated charge separation and transport. Furthermore, dopamine acted as effective electron donor to cause an increase in photocurrent. The as-obtained sensor was then used to detect small molecules like DA. A blue light optimized sensor at an applied potential of 0.7 V showed a detection limit of 1.67 nM with a wide linear range of 5 nM to 10 μM. On the other hand, the sensor presented acceptable reliability in determining DA in real samples. A recovery rate between 97.99 and 101.0% was obtained. Overall, controlling the morphology of semiconductors can influence PEC performance, which is a useful finding for the future development of PEC sensors.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by grants awarded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 21864026 and 21605130) and the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province (Grants 2018FB016 and 2016FD017).

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  1. Kuan-Neng Chi and Jia-Wen Liu are contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, People’s Republic of China

    Kuan-Neng Chi, Jia-Wen Liu, Yan Guan, Qiu-Xia Li, Tong Yang, Rong Hu & Yun-Hui Yang

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Chi, KN., Liu, JW., Guan, Y. et al. Effect of perylene assembly shapes on photoelectrochemical properties and ultrasensitive biosensing behaviors toward dopamine. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 5845–5854 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04865-7

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