Energy-Efficient Sensing

Self-powered electrochemical sensors have the potential to advance the field of electrochemical sensors by providing energy and material savings, using the two-electrode galvanic cell principle instead of the three-electrode cell method employed by potentiostatically controlled methods. Our article „Selection of Anode Half-Cells for Hydrogen Peroxide Self-Powered Electrochemical Sensors Using Biomimetic Metal Complex Cathode Catalysts” provides novel insights into the operation mechanism of the self-powered electrochemical sensors for the determination of hydrogen peroxide. The role of chloride anions in a supporting electrolyte, and reactions at the anode which contribute to the operation mechanism of the sensors, have been highlighted. A comparison of the analytical characteristics in current detection and potentiometric (no net current) modes of operation is presented.

A diagram showing a self-powered electrochemical sensor with multiple graphs displaying data points, curves, and comparisons of different measurements over time or concentration. (Mistral: Pixtral Large 2411, 2026-04-27)
Figure 1. Scheme of the self-powered electrochemical sensor (SPES) in current detection mode and self-powered configuration (SPC) responses of the SPESs with various cathodes and anodes at pH 3: (a) GNP–FePc cathode and Ag anode without 0.1 M KCl in the supporting electrolyte (light blue line) and with 0.1M KCl (red line); Ag/AgCl anode without (black line) and with 0.1 M KCl (green line); Ni anode without 0.1 M KCl (dark blue line); GCE/GNP/Nafion cathode without FePc catalyst combined with Ni anode (gray line). (b) rGO-PB cathode with Ag (black line), Ag/AgCl (red line), and Ni (blue line) anodes in phosphate buffer solution (PhB) with 0.1M KCl; GCE/rGO cathode and Ni anode (gray line). (c) SPC responses of the SPESs with GNP–FePc cathode and Ni anode without 0.1 M KCl (black line) and with 0.1M KCl (red line) in the background electrolyte during consecutive additions of H2O2. (d) Calibration curves of the rGO-PB cathode with Ni (green circles) or Ag/AgCl (gray circles) anodes in 0.05M PhB with 0.1M KCl; GNP–FePc with Ni anode (blue triangles) in 0.1M PhB. Dependences of the OCP of the SPES composed of the rGO-PB electrode combined with (e) + (f) Ag/AgCl electrode or (g) Ni electrode.

The article is available from https://doi.org/10.1002/anse.202500246. The citation data and abstract are available from the same link.

Publication: Yuxin Liu, Yunong Zhang, Andreas Offenhäusser, Yulia Mourzina, Analysis & Sensing 2026, 6, e202500246. https://doi.org/10.1002/anse.202500246

Contact:

Dr. Youlia Mourzina

Institute of Biological Information Processing-Bioelectronics (IBI-3)
Tel.: +49 2461 61-2364
E-Mail: y.mourzina@fz-juelich.de

Last Modified: 27.04.2026