Liquid-solid heterojunction constructing bio-sensory floating-gate OECTs

Abstract

The floating-gate organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) employs a distinct signal acquisition and amplification structure. This design offers two primary advantages: firstly, it mitigates the effects of non-specific physical adsorption during the sensing process and prevents contamination of the electrolyte solution by side reaction products, thereby enhancing detection accuracy. Secondly, it allows for an increased gate/electrolyte capacitance, optimizing the OECT’s signal amplification capability. Until now, optimizing the sensing electrode and control gate remains ambiguous. This current research uses a photosensitive liquid-solid heterojunction as the control gate. This choice is based on the observation that the photovoltage of −0.43 V remains unaffected by variations in electrode area, and any reduction in photocurrent due to area reduction can be offset by an increase in light intensity. Furthermore, given that the capacitance value of liquid-solid heterojunctions (4.386×10−2 F) significantly surpasses other components in equivalent circuits during light radiation, these heterojunctions can be considered self-driving and quasi-non-polarized. We confirmed the viability of this structural configuration through cortisol molecule detection. The potential application of this photosensitive liquid-solid heterojunction lies in constructing high-density and high-stability biosensors, a necessity in practical applications.