{
  "abstract": "Understanding and regulating photocurrent generation in semiconductors, particularly the control of polarity, is central to photoelectrochemical (PEC) system design. While engineered heterojunctions enable wavelength-dependent polarity switching, they require complex architectures. Light intensity, by contrast, is far more readily tuned but has long been limited to modulating photocurrent magnitude. Herein, we report that surface states, which participate in photoinduced carrier transfer, can mediate light-intensity-dependent photocurrent polarity reversal in single-component semiconductors of both n- and p-type (e.g., carbon nitride, CdTe quantum dots, and BiOI). Mechanism studies reveal that in the photocurrent switching potential (E ps ) region, where the built-in potential is attenuated, surface state occupation, dictated by illumination intensity, governs the direction of charge transfer. This surface-state-mediated mechanism establishes light intensity as an orthogonal dimension for adaptive photoresponsivity, bypassing the need for heterojunction engineering. As a proof of concept, a dopamine PEC biosensor built on this principle achieves exceptional selectivity without conventional biorecognition units, where photocurrent polarity itself serves as the recognition dimension.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Southeast University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wang Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kaiqing Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hong Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qiushi Ruan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sicheng Liang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kaiyuan Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Songqin Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Haibin Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yanfei Shen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuanjian Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2932-4159"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3cckv4q20m7ep.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-h0b3g/v4",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3cckv4q20m7ep",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-h0b3g/v4",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2105|Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220662480",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-h0b3g/v4",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-05",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3cckv4q20m7ep.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-h0b3g",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-h0b3g/v4"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "source:chemrxiv",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Light Intensity Switches Photocurrent Polarity via Surface States in Single-Component Semiconductors",
  "title_text": "Light Intensity Switches Photocurrent Polarity via Surface States in Single-Component Semiconductors",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3cckv4q20m7ep",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}