A responsive organic probe based photoelectrochemical sensor for hydrazine detection

Jiayuan Cheng; Yuanjian Luo; Yuanqiang Hao; Huabo Han; Xiaoyu Hu; Yuxuan Yang; Xiangkun Long; Jing He; Peisheng Zhang; Rongjin Zeng; Maotian Xu; Shu Chen

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2023.123463

A responsive organic probe based photoelectrochemical sensor for hydrazine detection

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2024 Jan 15:305:123463. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.123463. Epub 2023 Sep 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Theoretical Organic Chemistry and Functional Molecule of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China.
² Key Laboratory of Theoretical Organic Chemistry and Functional Molecule of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Biomolecular Recognition and Sensing, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Early Diagnosis of Major Diseases, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China. Electronic address: hao0736@163.com.
³ Henan Key Laboratory of Biomolecular Recognition and Sensing, Henan Joint International Research Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Early Diagnosis of Major Diseases, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Theoretical Organic Chemistry and Functional Molecule of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China. Electronic address: chenshu@hnust.edu.cn.

PMID: 37778175
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.123463

Abstract

This study developed a new photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor for the detection of the hydrazine (N₂H₄, HZ) based on a donor-π-bridge-acceptor (D-π-A) configuration organic photoactive dye (Dye-HZ). The dye was covalently immobilized on an FTO/TiO₂ (FTO: fluorine-doped tin oxide) substrate, resulting in a photoanode FTO/TiO₂/Dye-HZ that exhibits a specific PEC response to N₂H₄. Hydrazine reacts with the acetyl group in the Dye-HZ molecule, leading to its removal and the formation of a hydroxy group. The hydroxy group dissociates a hydrogen ion, forming a phenoxide anion with strong electron-donating characteristics. As a result, the dye molecule exhibits a strong intramolecular charge transfer effect, significantly enhancing absorbance and photoelectric response under visible light irradiation, leading to a remarkable increase in photocurrent and enabling highly sensitive detection of hydrazine. Furthermore, the PEC sensor demonstrates excellent selectivity and can be applied for the detection of hydrazine in real water samples. This study presents an innovative PEC sensing approach for hydrazine based on responsive photoactive molecules, providing new insights for PEC detection of other environmental pollutants.

Keywords: Hydrazine; Organic photoactive dye; Photoelectrochemical sensor; Responsive probe.