A Self Powered Solid-Liquid Contact Electrification Based Nanosensor for Chemically Enhanced Detection of Catechin

Abstract

In this study, a self-powered triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) based on chemically enhanced solid-liquid contact electrification has been demonstrated. The TiO2 nanosheet (NS) arrays, grown by two step hydrothermal process is employed as solid triboelectric material. On the other side volatile organic solvent acetone is utilized as contact liquid to obtain higher triboelectric performance. The chemical modification of TiO2 NS surface with catechin promotes enhanced response voltage due to ligand to metal charge transfer complex between Ti molecules and enediol ligands of catechin, exhibiting 1 nM LOD and wide linear range (1 µM to 100 µM). The output voltage has been chemically enhanced 1.59 times for 10 mM catechin concentration. The study not only demonstrates a self-powered cost effective nanosensor but also explores the possibility to improve the electrical performance of solid-liquid based contact electrification through surface chemical environment engineering and utilizing volatile organic solvents as contact liquid.