The Au/ZnSe/ZnO heterojunction improves the electron transfer behavior to enhance the detection performance of ascorbic acid

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds 2021-08, Vol.873, p.159721, Article 159721
• Main Authors: Wang, Xiaocan, Li, Guojie, Peng, Juan, Lai, Xiaoyong, Wu, Qiang, Cao, Yang, Ding, Lei, Tu, Jinchun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-recombination; Ascorbic acid; Carrier lifetime; Electron transfer; Heterojunctions; In-situ replacement; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectric emission; Photoelectricity; Photoelectrochemical performance; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides; ZnO; ZnSe
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.159721

The Au/ZnSe/ZnO heterojunction material with less transition zone on the two-phase interface was successfully prepared by the in-situ replacement of zinc oxide by Se2-. Moreover, the heterojunction formed by in-situ substitution can effectively reduce the interface transfer resistance and increase the life of carriers. The photocurrent of Au/ZnSe/ZnO is almost twice that of Au/ZnO, due to the formation of heterojunction ZnSe interface. As a result, the carrier lifetime of the material is increased by nearly 2.7 times (126.26 s/46.83 s) compared to Au/ZnO. Ascorbic acid is a very important compound for human metabolism, but there is no simple and rapid method to detect ascorbic acid. Au/ZnSe/ZnO is used as the photoanode of the photoelectric non-enzymatic sensor system for AA detection. The sensitivity of Au/ZnSe/ZnO/FTO-based PEC AA sensor is 113.75 μA mM−1 cm−2, exhibiting its advantages of fast, sensitive and high response. •Au/ZnSe/ZnO multi-element composite material changes the electron transport path and improves the carrier transfer.•2. ZnSe resistance to interface recombination effectively hindered the recombination of carriers.•Enhancing the absorption of visible light, improving the carrier lifetime and forming the two-phase low interface transition zone all enhance the photoelectrochemical performance.