Recent advances in two-dimensional layered materials for photoelectrochemical sensing

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing is a newly emerged and fast-developing analytical method using photoactive materials that are excited by external light to produce photocurrent readout signal. In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) layered materials have attracted increasing interest in PEC sensing due to their unique structure and fascinating photoelectric properties. Herein, an overview of the rapidly emerging 2D materials and their PEC sensing applications are summarized, including graphene, graphitic carbon nitride, transition metal dichalcogenides, Mxene, oxides, etc. Particularly, the different roles played by these 2D materials in a PEC sensor, the various strategies for improving photoelectric activity, and the preparation methods of 2D materials are discussed. Furthermore, some sensing mechanisms and signal amplification techniques frequently used in the PEC sensing area are also introduced in the review. Finally, the existing challenges and some future perspectives of this field are proposed.