Signal amplified photoelectrochemical assay based on Polypyrrole/g-C3N4/WO3 inverse opal photonic crystals triple heterojunction assembled through sandwich-type recognition model

A novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing strategy with an amplified signal was proposed based on polypyrrole/g-C3N4/WO3 inverse opal photonic crystals triple heterojunction. The sandwich-type detection model was applied to increase the sensitivity and favor the assembly of heterojunction structure. The heterojunction among PPy, g-C3N4 and WO3 highly improved the separation of photo-generated charges. Meanwhile, WO3 IOPCs with good optical performance were employed to enhance the light absorption of PEC detection electrode. With the simultaneous combination of these amplification techniques, the designed PEC sensor achieved high sensitivity with low limit of detection (LOD) as 0.004 nM (≈ 1.99 ng L−1) and admirable selectivity in the detection of oxytetracycline under visible light irradiation.