Oxygen-vacancy-regulated molybdenum oxide nanosheets for a multi-phosphate discriminative colorimetric sensor array.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Phosphate detection is vital for disease diagnostics, but current methods face challenges in sensor fabrication and multi-ion system complexity.
• Existing sensor arrays often involve intricate fabrication processes, limiting their widespread application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple and efficient colorimetric sensor for detecting and identifying various phosphates.
• To utilize oxygen vacancy-regulated MoOₓ nanosheets for tunable optical properties in a sensor array.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of oxygen vacancy-regulated MoOₓ (2 ≤ x ≤ 3) nanosheets.
• Modulation of oxygen vacancy concentration to tune plasmonic resonance absorption peaks.
• Development of a sensor array for phosphate detection and statistical analysis for identification.

Main Results:

• Tunable optical properties of MoOₓ nanosheets achieved by regulating oxygen vacancies.
• Successful identification of ten distinct phosphate types (ATP, ADP, AMP, PPi, Pi, UTP, GTP, GDP, GMP, CTP) using the sensor array.
• Demonstrated high detection and discrimination capabilities for quantitative and mixed phosphate analysis, validated in serum samples.

Conclusions:

• Oxygen vacancy-regulated MoOₓ nanosheets offer a simple fabrication route for highly efficient sensor arrays.
• The developed colorimetric sensor provides a new approach for sensitive and selective phosphate detection in complex biological systems.
• This work advances sensor design for improved disease diagnostics and chemical analysis.