A zinc–air battery assisted self-powered electrochemical sensor for sensitive detection of microcystin-RR

Abstract

Building a high-performance sensing platform is the key to developing sensitive sensors. Herein, a highly sensitive self-powered electrochemical sensor (SPES) was constructed using a WO₃·H₂O film as the cathode prepared by a hydrothermal method and Zn as the anode, and it could be applied to sensitive detection of microcystin (MC-RR). The WO₃·H₂O film with a larger specific surface area could boost the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which could achieve signal amplification and significantly increase the sensitivity of the sensors. Under the optimal conditions, there was a good linear relationship between the increased electrical power density and the logarithm of MC-RR concentration with a detection limit of 1.31 × 10⁻¹⁵ M (S/N = 3). This method had good anti-interference ability and stability when applied to the determination of MC-RR content in actual samples, which could boost the potential application of electrochemical sensors in the field of environmental monitoring.