The dual-function of hematite-based photoelectrochemical sensor for solar-to-electricity conversion and self-powered glucose detection

Abstract Photoelectrochemical (PEC) glucose sensing has been developed as a novel promising electrochemical approach for advanced analysis due to the advantages of high sensitivity and selectivity as well as good stability. Here, we present a Fe2O3 nanorod (Fe2O3NR)-based PEC sensor, which shows excellent performance in glucose detection for the concentrations in the range of 0.2–2.0 mM with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.997 and a sensitivity of 100.46 μA cm−2 mM−1. Furthermore, the glucose determination can be achieved without inputting external electrical power via a photo fuel cell (PFC) which is fabricated by the Fe2O3NR photoanode and platinum cathode. The generated maximum power density (Pmax) shows a linear sensitivity of 3.53 μW cm−2 mM−1 to the variation of glucose concentrations from 0.5 to 2.5 mM with correlation coefficient of 0.990. Therefore, the Fe2O3NR-based PEC sensor not only realizes the electricity generation from renewable solar energy and bioenergy but also accomplishes the detection of glucose by self-power.