Sonication-Triggered Rolling of Janus Porous Nanomembranes for Electrochemical Sensing of Dopamine and Ascorbic Acid

Abstract

Selective electrochemical sensing of dopamine and ascorbic acid has great importance to address the issue associated with neurological disorders including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. In this work, we combine atomic layer deposition with sonication technique to produce metal oxide microtubes. The Janus nanomembranes deposited on a sponge template with single-side porous structure are triggered to roll under the sonication. The influence of the nanomembrane thickness, the post-treatments, and the solvent polarity have been investigated, and the results demonstrate the universality of the current approach in fabricating microtubes from different oxides Janus nanomembranes. In addition, microtubes after functionalization are used for electrochemical sensing of dopamine and ascorbic acid. The fabricated DA sensors exhibit great selectivity and sensitivity with an ultralow limit of detection (0.025 μM) and a wide detection range (0.4–80 mM) due to their tubular structures, the porous inner surfaces, and the exposure of active sites. The microtubular sensor maintains a stable sensing performance after 12 days. This sonication-triggered rolling process has potential in producing various 3D microstructure and therefore may have important applications in future micro-/nanodevices.