Solvothermal synthesis of antimony sulfide dendrites for electrochemical detection of dopamine

Sb2S3 dendrites composed of 1-dimensional rods were prepared by a facile solvothermal reaction. The dosage of the poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) morphology-controlling reagent and the reaction temperature are key factors determining the final morphology of the product. Temporal experiments revealed that the formation of Sb2S3 dendrites experienced successive stages including precipitate reaction, crystallization and tip splitting. The as-prepared Sb2S3 dendrites were further employed as sensing material for electrochemical detection of dopamine (DA). A cyclic voltammogram (CV) showed that an Sb2S3 dendrite modified electrode enables the selective electro-oxidation of DA in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). The constructed biosensor demonstrated a linear response range of 0.125–160 μM and a detection limit of 0.1 μM, which suggests that the Sb2S3 dendrites are promising sensing materials in the electrochemical analysis of DA.