A photo-sensitive BiVO4@Bi2O3@g-C3N4 sensor for the detection of dopamine

Dopamine (DA) plays an important biological role in cardiovascular, renal, hormone, central nervous systems and human metabolism. Photo-sensitive sensors studies are gained great importance in recent years due to some problems in enzyme-based sensors. In this study, photo-sensitive BiVO4@Bi2O3@g-C3N4 based sensor is fabricated for DA determination. The semiconductors use in this sensor system have important functions; g-C3N4 is a photosensitive material, delta-Bi2O3 is a stable electrode responsible for intermediate contact, and BiVO4 is a good electron conduction material due to its stable structure. DA is analyzed by BiVO4@Bi2O3@g-C3N4 photo-sensitive sensor in 0.1 M PBS medium at solutions with different concentrations. In this study, for the first time, a calibration curve is constructed from Tafel curves of solutions of different concentrations. The DA sensor is worked in a linear range of 25-750 mu M. In addition, in this developed sensor, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ) and sensitivity values are 0.046, 0.154 mu M and 0.011 mu A mu M-1 cm(-2), respectively. Our strategy opens a new pathway to determination of some neurotransmitter via photo-sensitive materials.