Issue

Vol. 16 (2024)

Facile Semiconductor p–n Homojunction Nanowires with Strategic p-Type Doping Engineering Combined with Surface Reconstruction for Biosensing Applications

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01394-5
Liuan Li
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Shi Fang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Wei Chen
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yueyue Li
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No 218 Jixi Road, Hefei 230022, People’s Republic of China
Mohammad Fazel Vafadar
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada
Danhao Wang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yang Kang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Xin Liu
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yuanmin Luo
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Kun Liang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yiping Dang
Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No 1277 Jiefang Ave., Wuhan 430022, People’s Republic of China
Lei Zhao
Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No 1277 Jiefang Ave., Wuhan 430022, People’s Republic of China
Songrui Zhao
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada
Zongzhi Yin
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No 218 Jixi Road, Hefei 230022, People’s Republic of China
Haiding Sun
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Haiding Sun

haiding@ustc.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 192

Abstract

Photosensors with versatile functionalities have emerged as a cornerstone for breakthroughs in the future optoelectronic systems across a wide range of applications. In particular, emerging photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type devices have recently attracted extensive interest in liquid-based biosensing applications due to their natural electrolyte-assisted operating characteristics. Herein, a PEC-type photosensor was carefully designed and constructed by employing gallium nitride (GaN) p–n homojunction semiconductor nanowires on silicon, with the p-GaN segment strategically doped and then decorated with cobalt–nickel oxide (CoNiOx). Essentially, the p–n homojunction configuration with facile p-doping engineering improves carrier separation efficiency and facilitates carrier transfer to the nanowire surface, while CoNiOx decoration further boosts PEC reaction activity and carrier dynamics at the nanowire/electrolyte interface. Consequently, the constructed photosensor achieves a high responsivity of 247.8 mA W−1 while simultaneously exhibiting excellent operating stability. Strikingly, based on the remarkable stability and high responsivity of the device, a glucose sensing system was established with a demonstration of glucose level determination in real human serum. This work offers a feasible and universal approach in the pursuit of high-performance bio-related sensing applications via a rational design of PEC devices in the form of nanostructured architecture with strategic doping engineering.


Highlights:
1 A novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) photosensor composed of GaN nanowire-on-Si platform demonstrates record-high responsivity of 247.8 mA W−1 with ultra-stable operation characteristics.
2 Strategic internal and external band structure engineering of semiconductor nanowires promotes efficient PEC reaction via controlling carrier dynamics while preserving nanowires from material degradation.
3 The glucose sensing system is constructed to successfully analyze blood glucose levels in real human serum samples, featuring a high sensitivity of 0.173 µA µM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 0.07 µM.

Keywords

p–n GaN nanowires Strategic p-doping Surface decoration Photoelectrochemical sensor Glucose sensing
Li, Liuan, Shi Fang, Wei Chen, Yueyue Li, Mohammad Fazel Vafadar, Danhao Wang, Yang Kang, Xin Liu, Yuanmin Luo, Kun Liang, Yiping Dang, Lei Zhao, Songrui Zhao, Zongzhi Yin, and Haiding Sun. 2024. “Facile Semiconductor p–n Homojunction Nanowires With Strategic P-Type Doping Engineering Combined With Surface Reconstruction for Biosensing Applications”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (May):192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01394-5.
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)
BibTeX
References
  1. Z. Li, T. Yan, X. Fang, Low-dimensional wide-bandgap semiconductors for UV photodetectors. Nat. Rev. Mater. 8, 587–603 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00583-9
  2. L. Gu, S. Poddar, Y. Lin, Z. Long, D. Zhang et al., A biomimetic eye with a hemispherical perovskite nanowire array retina. Nature 581, 278–282 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2285-x
  3. W.G. Chung, J. Jang, G. Cui, S. Lee, H. Jeong et al., Liquid-metal-based three-dimensional microelectrode arrays integrated with implantable ultrathin retinal prosthesis for vision restoration. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-023-01587-w
  4. D. Wang, X. Liu, Y. Kang, X. Wang, Y. Wu et al., Bidirectional photocurrent in p–n heterojunction nanowires. Nat. Electron. 4, 645–652 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-021-00640-7
  5. S. Fang, L. Li, W. Wang, W. Chen, D. Wang et al., Light-induced bipolar photoresponse with amplified photocurrents in an electrolyte-assisted bipolar p-n junction. Adv. Mater. 35, e2300911 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202300911
  6. M. Fathabadi, S. Zhao, Tunnel junction engineered photocarrier dynamics in epitaxial semiconductor nanowires for efficient and ultrafast photoelectrochemical photodetectors. ACS Photonics 10, 1969–1975 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.3c00440
  7. J. Zhang, M. Jiang, M. Zhou, W. Yang, Y. Zhao et al., Self-powered (In, Ga)N-nanowire-based photodetector with fast response speed for under-seawater detection. Opt. Express 31, 8128–8138 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.482370
  8. H. Chen, Z. Lin, H. Qiu, Y. Tang, S. Yang et al., High-responsivity natural-electrolyte undersea photoelectrochemical photodetector with self-powered Cu@GaN nanowires network. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2370181 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202370181
  9. Y. Luo, D. Wang, Y. Kang, S. Fang, X. Liu et al., Reprogrammable binary and ternary optoelectronic logic gates composed of nanostructured GaN photoelectrodes with bipolar photoresponse characteristics. Adv. Opt. Mater. 11, 2300129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202300129
  10. M. Zhang, H. Yu, H. Li, Y. Jiang, L. Qu et al., Ultrathin In2O3 nanosheets toward high responsivity and rejection ratio visible-blind UV photodetection. Small 19, 2205623 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202205623
  11. V. Andrei, B. Reuillard, E. Reisner, Bias-free solar syngas production by integrating a molecular cobalt catalyst with perovskite-BiVO4 tandems. Nat. Mater. 19, 189–194 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-019-0501-6
  12. B. Tao, X. Li, F. Miao, P. Zhang, B. Gao et al., Non-enzymatic photoelectrochemical sensor based on rGO/NiCo2O4/ZnO for glucose detection. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 70, 4366–4371 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1109/TED.2023.3289786
  13. J.-J. Wei, H.-B. Li, G.-Q. Wang, J.-Y. Zheng, A.-J. Wang et al., Novel ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical cytosensor based on hollow CdIn2S4/In2S3 heterostructured microspheres for HepG2 cells detection and inhibitor screening. Anal. Chem. 94, 12240–12247 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c02982
  14. D. Long, Y. Tu, Y. Chai, R. Yuan, Photoelectrochemical assay based on SnO2/BiOBr p-n heterojunction for ultrasensitive DNA detection. Anal. Chem. 93, 12995–13000 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02745
  15. J. Hu, M.-J. Lu, F.-Z. Chen, H.-M. Jia, H. Zhou et al., Multifunctional hydrogel hybrid-gated organic photoelectrochemical transistor for biosensing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2109046 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202109046
  16. C. Wang, Y. Wang, K.O. Kirlikovali, K. Ma, Y. Zhou et al., Ultrafine silver nanop encapsulated porous molecular traps for discriminative photoelectrochemical detection of mustard gas simulants by synergistic size-exclusion and site-specific recognition. Adv. Mater. 34, e2202287 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202202287
  17. S.-T. Han, H. Peng, Q. Sun, S. Venkatesh, K.-S. Chung et al., An overview of the development of flexible sensors. Adv. Mater. 29, 1700375 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201700375
  18. C. Li, Z. Chen, Y. Zhang, J. He, R. Yuan et al., Guanine-lighting-up fluorescence biosensing of silver nanoclusters populated in functional DNA constructs by a pH-triggered switch. Anal. Chem. 92, 13369–13377 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.0c02744
  19. M. Nami, P. Han, D. Hanlon, K. Tatsuno, B. Wei et al., Rapid screen for antiviral T-cell immunity with nanowire electrochemical biosensors. Adv. Mater. 34, 2270213 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202270213
  20. T. Wu, Y. Du, Z. Gao, K. Xu, L. Dai et al., Dual direct Z-scheme heterojunction with stable electron supply to a Au/PANI photocathode for ultrasensitive photoelectrochemical and electrochromic visualization detection of ofloxacin in a microfluidic sensing platform. Anal. Chem. 95, 1627–1634 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04740
  21. L. Mao, Y. Xiao, H. Liu, X. Zhang, S. Wang et al., Water-stable CsPbBr3/reduced graphene oxide nanoscrolls for high-performance photoelectrochemical sensing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2213814 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202213814
  22. R. Tan, Y. Qin, M. Liu, H. Wang, R. Su et al., Bifunctional single-atom iron cocatalysts enable an efficient photoelectrochemical fuel cell for sensitive biosensing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2305673 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202305673
  23. S. Fang, D. Wang, Y. Kang, X. Liu, Y. Luo et al., Balancing the photo-induced carrier transport behavior at two semiconductor interfaces for dual-polarity photodetection. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2202524 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202202524
  24. Y. Kang, D. Wang, Y. Gao, S. Guo, K. Hu et al., Achieving record-high photoelectrochemical photoresponse characteristics by employing Co3O4 nanoclusters as hole charging layer for underwater optical communication. ACS Nano 17, 3901–3912 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c12175
  25. M.G. Kibria, S. Zhao, F.A. Chowdhury, Q. Wang, H.P.T. Nguyen et al., Tuning the surface Fermi level on p-type gallium nitride nanowires for efficient overall water splitting. Nat. Commun. 5, 3825 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4825
  26. W. Chen, D. Wang, W. Wang, Y. Kang, X. Liu et al., Manipulating surface band bending of III-nitride nanowires with ambipolar charge-transfer characteristics: a pathway toward advanced photoswitching logic gates and encrypted optical communication. Adv. Mater. 36, e2307779 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202307779
  27. P. Varadhan, H.-C. Fu, Y.-C. Kao, R.-H. Horng, J.-H. He, An efficient and stable photoelectrochemical system with 9% solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency via InGaP/GaAs double junction. Nat. Commun. 10, 5282 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12977-x
  28. J. Kamimura, P. Bogdanoff, M. Ramsteiner, P. Corfdir, F. Feix et al., P-type doping of GaN nanowires characterized by photoelectrochemical measurements. Nano Lett. 17, 1529–1537 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04560
  29. M.G. Kibria, F.A. Chowdhury, S. Zhao, B. AlOtaibi, M.L. Trudeau et al., Visible light-driven efficient overall water splitting using p-type metal-nitride nanowire arrays. Nat. Commun. 6, 6797 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7797
  30. D. Zhou, K., Fan Recent strategies to enhance the efficiency of hematite photoanodes in photoelectrochemical water splitting. Chin. J. Catal. 42, 904–919 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/s1872-2067(20)63712-3
  31. J. Zhi, M. Zhou, Z. Zhang, O. Reiser, F. Huang, Interstitial boron-doped mesoporous semiconductor oxides for ultratransparent energy storage. Nat. Commun. 12, 445 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20352-4
  32. F. Meng, J. Li, S.K. Cushing, M. Zhi, N. Wu, Solar hydrogen generation by nanoscale p–n junction of p-type molybdenum disulfide/n-type nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 10286–10289 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1021/ja404851s
  33. S. Bae, D. Kim, H. Kim, M. Gu, J. Ryu et al., Modulating charge separation efficiency of water oxidation photoanodes with polyelectrolyte-assembled interfacial dipole layers. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30, 1908492 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201908492
  34. S.S. Akbari, U. Unal, F. Karadas, Photocatalytic water oxidation with a CoFe Prussian blue analogue–layered niobate hybrid material. ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 4, 12383–12390 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c02188
  35. X. Sun, X. Wang, P. Wang, B. Sheng, M. Li et al., Identifying a doping type of semiconductor nanowires by photoassisted kelvin probe force microscopy as exemplified for GaN nanowires. Opt. Mater. Express 7, 904 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1364/ome.7.000904
  36. C. Zhao, M. Ebaid, H. Zhang, D. Priante, B. Janjua et al., Quantified hole concentration in AlGaN nanowires for high-performance ultraviolet emitters. Nanoscale 10, 15980–15988 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR02615G
  37. P. Varadhan, H.-C. Fu, D. Priante, J.R.D. Retamal, C. Zhao et al., Surface passivation of GaN nanowires for enhanced photoelectrochemical water-splitting. Nano Lett. 17, 1520–1528 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b04559
  38. P. Zhou, I.A. Navid, Y. Ma, Y. Xiao, P. Wang et al., Solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of more than 9% in photocatalytic water splitting. Nature 613, 66–70 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05399-1
  39. P. Li, H.C. Zeng, Sandwich-like nanocomposite of CoNiOx/reduced graphene oxide for enhanced electrocatalytic water oxidation. Adv. Funct. Mater. 27, 1606325 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201606325
  40. Z. Peng, D. Jia, J. Tang, Y. Wang, Y. Wang et al., CoNiO2/TiN–TiOxNy composites for ultrahigh electrochemical energy storage and simultaneous glucose sensing. J. Mater. Chem. A 2, 10904–10909 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1039/C4TA00875H
  41. G. Fang, Z. Liu, C. Han, X. Ma, H. Lv et al., CoNiO2 as a novel water oxidation cocatalyst to enhance PEC water splitting performance of BiVO4. Chem. Commun. 56, 9158–9161 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cc03516e
  42. Y. Kang, D. Wang, S. Fang, X. Liu, H. Yu et al., Coupling plasmonic Pt nanops with AlGaN nanostructures for enhanced broadband photoelectrochemical-detection applications. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 4, 13938–13946 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.1c03239
  43. Y. Xiao, C. Feng, J. Fu, F. Wang, C. Li et al., Band structure engineering and defect control of Ta3N5 for efficient photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Nat. Catal. 3, 932–940 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-020-00522-9
  44. Y. Wang, J. Schwartz, J. Gim, R. Hovden, Z. Mi, Stable unassisted solar water splitting on semiconductor photocathodes protected by multifunctional GaN nanostructures. ACS Energy Lett. 4, 1541–1548 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsenergylett.9b00549
  45. B. Weng, M.-Y. Qi, C. Han, Z.-R. Tang, Y.-J. Xu, Photocorrosion inhibition of semiconductor-based photocatalysts: basic principle, current development, and future perspective. ACS Catal. 9, 4642–4687 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.9b00313
  46. S. Wang, P. Shao, T. Zhi, Z. Gao, W. Chen et al., Structural designs of AlGaN/GaN nanowire-based photoelectrochemical photodetectors: carrier transport regulation in GaN segment as current flow hub. APN 2, 036003 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.APN.2.3.036003
  47. S. Fang, D. Wang, X. Wang, X. Liu, Y. Kang et al., Tuning the charge transfer dynamics of the nanostructured GaN photoelectrodes for efficient photoelectrochemical detection in the ultraviolet band. Adv. Funct. Mater. 31, 2103007 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202103007
  48. M. Luo, J. Song, J. Wang, X. Pan, H. Hong et al., Ultraviolet photoelectrochemical photodetector based on GaN/Cu2O core–shell nanowire p–n heterojunctions. AIP Adv. 12, 115112 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0127889
  49. Y. Huang, J. Zhang, M. Zhou, R. Pei, Y. Zhao, Engineering GaN/AuNC core-shell nanowire heterojunctions by gold nanoclusters with excitation-dependent behavior for enhancing the responsivity and stability of self-driven photodetectors. Nanoscale Adv. 5, 6228–6237 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1039/d3na00463e
  50. J. Zhang, B. Jiao, J. Dai, D. Wu, Z. Wu et al., Enhance the responsivity and response speed of self-powered ultraviolet photodetector by GaN/CsPbBr3 core-shell nanowire heterojunction and hydrogel. Nano Energy 100, 107437 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107437
  51. S. Ding, K. Chen, X. Xiu, Y. Li, L. Zhang et al., Self-powered solar-blind photodetectors based on vertically aligned GaN@Ga2O3 core–shell nanowire arrays. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 5, 14470–14477 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c02836
  52. X. Yang, L. Qu, F. Gao, Y. Hu, H. Yu et al., High-performance broadband photoelectrochemical photodetectors based on ultrathin Bi2O2S nanosheets. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 14, 7175–7183 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c22448
  53. L. Huang, Z. Hu, H. Zhang, Y. Xiong, S. Fan et al., A simple, repeatable and highly stable self-powered solar-blind photoelectrochemical-type photodetector using amorphous Ga2O3 films grown on 3D carbon fiber paper. J. Mater. Chem. C 9, 10354–10360 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TC02471J
  54. Y. Wang, A. Zhang, Z. Shao, H. Yu, Y. Xu et al., High-performance Se-based photoelectrochemical photodetectors via in situ grown microrod arrays. Adv. Opt. Mater. 10, 2201926 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202201926
  55. X. Yang, X. Liu, L. Qu, F. Gao, Y. Xu et al., Boosting photoresponse of self-powered InSe-based photoelectrochemical photodetectors via suppression of interface doping. ACS Nano 16, 8440–8448 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c02986
  56. L. Jin, R. Guo, T. Han, R. Wang, Y. Zhang, Ultrathin 2D violet phosphorus nanosheets: facile liquid-phase exfoliation, characterization, and photoelectrochemical application. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2213583 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202213583
  57. X. Liu, D. Wang, P. Shao, H. Sun, S. Fang et al., Achieving record high external quantum efficiency >86.7% in solar-blind photoelectrochemical photodetection. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2270163 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202270163
  58. D. Ohayon, G. Nikiforidis, A. Savva, A. Giugni, S. Wustoni et al., Biofuel powered glucose detection in bodily fluids with an n-type conjugated polymer. Nat. Mater. 19, 456–463 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-019-0556-4
  59. M. Adeel, K. Asif, M.M. Rahman, S. Daniele, V. Canzonieri et al., Glucose detection devices and methods based on metal–organic frameworks and related materials. Adv. Funct. Mater. 31, 2106023 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202106023
  60. J. Xu, F. Li, D. Wang, M.H. Nawaz, Q. An et al., Co3O4 nanostructures on flexible carbon cloth for crystal plane effect of nonenzymatic electrocatalysis for glucose. Biosens. Bioelectron. 123, 25–29 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2018.07.039
  61. G. Wang, X. Lu, T. Zhai, Y. Ling, H. Wang et al., Free-standing nickel oxide nanoflake arrays: synthesis and application for highly sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensors. Nanoscale 4, 3123–3127 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1039/c2nr30302g
  62. Y. Zhou, Q. Hu, F. Yu, G.-Y. Ran, H.-Y. Wang et al., A metal-organic framework based on a nickel bis(dithiolene) connector: synthesis, crystal structure, and application as an electrochemical glucose sensor. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142, 20313–20317 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.0c09009
  63. Q. Wang, K. Chen, H. Jiang, C. Chen, C. Xiong et al., Cell-inspired design of cascade catalysis system by 3D spatially separated active sites. Nat. Commun. 14, 5338 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41002-5
Read More
Author biographies are not available.
Download this PDF file
PDF SUPPLEMENTARY FILE
Statistic
Read Counter : 1532 Download : 1133

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>