An enzyme-free photoelectrochemical glucose sensor based on coupling BiVO4 with gold nanoparticles

A cathodic photoelectrochemical glucose biosensor based on the Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and BiVO 4 modified indium tin oxide (ITO) photoelectrode was developed successfully. The prepared ITO/AuNPs/BiVO 4 photoelectrode showed a large and stable cathodic photocurrent in the presence of oxygen as electron acceptor . Moreover, it could act as mimic glucose oxidase under visible light irradiation and catalytically oxidized glucose to produce gluconic acid and H 2 O 2 in the presence of O 2 . Meanwhile, the cathodic photocurrent decreased markedly because of simultaneous combination of the glucose oxidation and consumption of oxygen. Under the optimized condition, a linear relationship between photocurrent decrease and glucose concentration was obtained over the range of 1 n M to 1 mM with a detection limit of 2.6 × 10 −10  M (S/N = 3). This PEC biosensor shows a good selectivity, stability, repeatability and high sensitivity. This work provides a promising method for constructing a new type of cathode photochemical biosensor based on nanomaterials .