Rod-like graphite carbon nitride@MnO2 (R-g-C3N5@MnO2) heterostructure was prepared by in situ self-anchored growth of MnO2 nanosheet on the surface of R-g-C3N5. The synthesized R-g-C3N5@MnO2 heterostructure as photoactive material exhibited excellent photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance, and the prepared heterostructure-aptamer probe displayed sensitive PEC response to cTnI. Therefore, the PEC method was developed to detect cTnI based on the R-g-C3N5@MnO2 heterostructure. It was found that the linear response to cTnI was in the range 0.001-30 ng/mL under optimized conditions, and the detection limit of the proposed sensor was 0.3 pg/mL. The PEC method displays stable photocurrent response up to 8 cycles and exhibited outstanding selectivity and sensitivity. The PEC method was successfully applied to detect cTnI in serum samples. The recoveries of cTnI detection in serums reach 95.5-104%, and the relative standard deviations range from 3.20 to 4.45%.

Composites were prepared from BiOI and Bi/BiOI-X (where x can be 1, 2, 3, or 4) by a one-step solvothermal method and used to design a photoelectrochemical (PEC) assay for chromium(VI). The chemical composition and morphology of the materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results of UV-vis DRS (Diffuse reflection spectra) and photoluminescence show the composites to have higher visible light absorption and a lower electron recombination rate compared to BiOI alone. Photogenerated electrons reduce hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium, and the consumption of electrons cause noticeable enhances of the photocurrent density after the addition of Cr(VI). Thus, the Cr(VI) concentration can be measured by monitoring the increase of photocurrent density. The Bi/BiOI-3 material displays the best performance for detecting Cr(VI). The method has a wide linear range (1 to 230 μM) and a low detection limit of 0.3 μM (at S/N = 3). It is stable, selective, reproducible and was applied to the determination of nitrite in spiked tap water and lake water samples. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of a electrochemical sensor based on Bi/BiOI for the determination of Cr(VI).

A vapor cooling condensation system was used to deposit high quality intrinsic ZnO thin films and intrinsic ZnO nanorods as the sensing membrane of extended-gate field-effect-transistor (EGFET) glucose biosensors. The sensing sensitivity of the resulting glucose biosensors operated in the linear range was 13.4 μA mM(-1) cm(-2). To improve the sensing sensitivity of the ZnO-based glucose biosensors, the photoelectrochemical method was utilized to passivate the sidewall surfaces of the ZnO nanorods. The sensing sensitivity of the ZnO-based glucose biosensors with passivated ZnO nanorods was significantly improved to 20.33 μA mM(-1) cm(-2) under the same measurement conditions. The experimental results verified that the sensing sensitivity improvement was the result of the mitigation of the Fermi level pinning effect caused by the dangling bonds and the surface states induced on the sidewall surface of the ZnO nanorods.