High-Performance Photoelectrochemical Enzymatic Bioanalysis Based on a 3D Porous Cu_<i>x</i>O@TiO₂ Film with a Solid–Liquid–Air Triphase Interface

Abstract

The accurate detection of H2O2 is crucial in oxidase-based cathodic photoelectrochemical enzymatic bioanalysis but will be easily compromised in the conventional photoelectrode–electrolyte diphase system due to the fluctuation of oxygen levels and the similar reduction potential between oxygen and H2O2. Herein, a solid–liquid–air triphase bio-photocathode based on a superhydrophobic three-dimensional (3D) porous micro–nano-hierarchical structured CuxO@TiO2 film that was constructed by controlling the wettability of the electrode surface is reported. The triphase photoelectrochemical system ensures an oxygen-rich interface microenvironment with constant and sufficiently high oxygen concentration. Moreover, the 3D porous micro–nano-hierarchical structures possess abundant active catalytic sites and a multidimensional electron transport pathway. The synergistic effect of the improved oxygen supply and the photoelectrode architecture greatly stabilizes and enhances the kinetics of the enzymatic reaction and H2O2 cathodic reaction, resulting in a 60-fold broader linear detection range and a higher accuracy compared with the conventional solid–liquid diphase system