Molecularly imprinted polymer modified TiO2 nanotube arrays for photoelectrochemical determination of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)

A novel photoelectrochemical sensor is fabricated by a convenient surface modification of molecularly imprinted polymer on highly ordered and vertically aligned TiO2 nanotube arrays. As-prepared sensor (denoted as MIP@TiO2 NTAs) is highly sensitive to perfluorooctane sulfonate in water samples, with a linear range from 0.5 to 10 μM and a limit of detection of 86 ng mL−1 (S/N = 3). Moreover, the perfluorooctane sulfonate MIP@TiO2 NTA photoelectrochemical sensor exhibits outstanding selectivity. Twenty times 2,4-dichorophenoxyacetic acid, anthracene-9-carboxylic acid, and pentachlorophenol, or two times perfluoroheptanoic acid and perfluorooctanoic do not interfere the determination of perfluorooctane sulfonate. The practical application of the photoelectrochemical sensor is also realized in the selective determination of perfluorooctane sulfonate in water samples.