Study on the electrochemical catalytic properties of the topological insulator Bi₂Se₃

In this work, the electrochemical catalytic properties of the topological insulator bismuth selenide (Bi₂Se₃) were first studied. In the presence of Bi₂Se₃ the reduction current of dissolved O₂ could be significantly enhanced. The electron transfer resistivity (Rct) was greatly reduced at the Bi₂Se₃-PVP modified electrode as evidenced by the electrochemical impedance spectrometry, implying that the topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ could facilitate the electron transfer at the interface due to the excellent surface conductivity. Based on the high electrochemical catalytic activity for the reduction of dissolved O₂, the Bi₂Se₃-PVP modified electrode was used to detect glucose with the modification of glucose oxidase, and applied for the detection of glucose in human blood serum.