Actuating photoelectrochemical sensing sensitivity coupling core-core-shell Fe3O4@C@TiO2 with molecularly imprinted polypyrrole

Magnetic photocatalyst coupling with molecular imprinting technique is an efficient method for the specific photodegrade organic pollutants. Herein, this method is applied to fabricate a photoelectrochemical sensing platform for bisphenol A (BPA) detection based on electro-polymerization of molecularly imprinting pyrrole (MI-PPy) on the core-shell magnetic nanoparticles, Fe3O4@C@TiO2, which is magnetically adsorbed on magnetic glassy carbon electrode (MGCE). The MI-PPy layer not only provides molecular recognition capabilities for selective absorption of BPA, but also improves the photoelectrochemical behavior because of the heterostructure of TiO2/PPy that accelerated photoelectron transfer, which is a strategy to kill two birds with one stone. Therefore, the fabricated sensor shows a high sensitivity of 3.74 μA μM-1 cm-2 and excellent selectivity for BPA detection. Meanwhile, the electrode could be renewed by the UV irradiation and thus exhibits good recyclability and long-term stability. Under optimum conditions, the as-prepared electrode exhibited good photocurrent response for the detection of BPA, and allowed detection of BPA at a concentration as low as 0.03 μM. The favorable performance for BPA detection in real samples is able to extend more application of photoelectrochemical sensors for sensitive and long-term monitoring of environmental pollutants.