The design and growth of peanut-like CuS/BiVO4 composites for photoelectrochemical sensing

In this study, the CuS/BiVO4-X (where X represents the mass percentage of CuS associated with CuS/BiVO4; X = 2%, 5% and 7%) p–n heterostructures were fabricated using a two-step hydrothermal method. The structural and morphological features were ascertained in great detail using several physical characterization processes. According to the results of the photoelectrochemical (PEC) experimental processes, the PEC properties of CuS/BiVO4-5% were much more obvious as compared to those of pure BiVO4, CuS and CuS/BiVO4-X. Moreover, the photoluminescence (PL) and UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS) affirmed that the CuS/BiVO4-5% demonstrates an excellent capacity for absorbing visible light and low electron recombination rate as compared with the other composites. Accordingly, PEC sensors with CuS/BiVO4-5% were fabricated for the detection of dopamine (DA) and bisphenol A (BPA) with outstanding selectivity and stability. For DA, it implied a broad linear range from 0.01–10 μM and 10–120 μM, and for BPA, the broad linear range was 0.01–90 μM. Thus, the PEC sensor has significant potential application when it comes to DA and BPA detection.