Surface-Electronic-State-Modulated, Single-Crystalline (001) TiO

Intrinsically low conductivity and poor reactivity restrict many semiconductors from electrochemical detection. Usually, metal- and carbon-based modifications of semiconductors are necessary, making them complex, expensive, and unstable. Here, for the first time, we present a surface-electronic-state-modulation-based concept applied to semiconductors. This concept enables pure semiconductors to be directly available for ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of heavy-metal ions without any modifications. As an example, a defective single-crystalline (001) TiO