In situ Synthesis of PANI/CuO Nanocomposites for Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Glucose Sensing

Abstract

We report the in situ synthesis of polyaniline/copper oxide (PANI/CuO) nanocomposites and their characterization as electrocatalyst for non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose detection. Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were prepared by wet chemical precipitation method followed by thermal treatment while the composites of PANI and CuO were synthesized by in situ chemical polymerization of aniline with definite amount of CuO. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the composites are predominantly amorphous. The composite formation was confirmed by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-Vis spectroscopy analysis. The surface morphology was greatly altered with the amount of CuO in composite structure. PANI/CuO nanocomposites were coated on copper substrate to investigate their electrocatalytic activity for glucose sensing. PANI/CuO with 10 wt. % CuO exhibited good response towards electrochemical glucose oxidation.