Copper
ions are not only physiologically essential for life but
also hazardous materials causing a series of neurodegenerative diseases.
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) detection has attracted a large amount
of focus as a potential strategy to develop Cu2+ ion sensors.
However, relatively low photocurrent signals with poor antidisturbance
ability and the limited concentration range have prevented its practical
applications. Here, we designed a WO3/CdS heterojunction
photoanode for the PEC determination of Cu2+ in aqueous
solution through a simple two-step chemical bath deposition method.
The obtained WO3/CdS photoanode had a nanoplate morphology
and showed an enhanced photoresponsivity with a photocurrent density
of 1.5 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V versus RHE under illumination.
Naturally, it exhibited a low detection limit (0.06 μM) and
wider range (0.5 μM to 1 mM) for Cu2+ PEC detection
first, suggesting that the WO3/CdS heterojunction photoanode
is a promising tool to monitor copper pollution in natural environments.
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