Construction of g-C3N4/Au/NH2-UiO-66 Z-scheme heterojunction for label-free photoelectrochemical recognition of D-penicillamine

The wide clinical application of d-penicillamine (D-PA) makes it inevitably accumulates in the environment, seriously threatening human health and the ecological environment. To better supervisory control D-PA, a highly sensitive and reliable photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor based on gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) loaded on graphitic carbon nitride sheet and hexagonal NH2-UiO-66 composite (g-C3N4/Au/NH2-UiO-66) was synthesized. Tactfully using the strong bonding between D-PA and Au NPs and the effective carrier separation of Z-scheme heterojunction, the designed g-C3N4/Au/NH2-UiO-66 PEC sensor without an extra recognition unit exhibited a selective and sensitive photocurrent to D-PA. With the aid of UV diffuse reflectance spectra (UV-DRs), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) characterization, and free radical capture experiments, the electron transfer path of the PEC sensing system was deduced. The proposed g-C3N4/Au/NH2-UiO-66 PEC-based sensor achieved a low detection limit of 0.0046 μM (S/N = 3) with a wide linear response ranging from 10 nM to 400 μM. In addition, its good stability and selectivity also laid a good foundation for practical applications. [Display omitted] •A d-penicillamine PEC sensor without extra recognition unit was constructed.•The Z-scheme greatly promoted the separation of photogenerated carriers.•The electron transport path and detection mechanism was explored.•The wide linear range and low detection limit for d-penicillamine was achieved.