Graphene-like boron carbide monolayer as an electronic and work function-type sensor for dopamine drug

Abstract The electronic response of both pristine and Al-doped BC3 nanosheets toward 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl ethylamine, i.e. dopamine (DA) was studied through density functional theory. Based on the adsorption energy the tendency of pristine BC3 toward DA drug insignificant and also after adsorption of DA drug the electronic properties of BC3 were changed negligibly. While doping the sheet by Al significantly increases its reactivity and sensitivity toward the DA drug. By adsorption of DA HOMO-LUMO gap dramatically decreased of from 1.34 to 1.12 eV, thereby enhancing the electrical conductivity. It indicates that the doped BC3 nanosheets may be a suitable candidate as a DA electronic sensor, unlike the pristine BC3. Furthermore, the work function of doped BC3 was changed significantly after DA adsorption. Based on these results the doped BC3 can also act as a work function-type sensor to the sensing of DA was used. Finally, the most important factor of the doped BC3 sheet is a short recovery time of 7.36 ms for the desorption process of DA.