A Simple Electrochemical Route to Access Amorphous Co-Ni Hydroxide for Non-enzymatic Glucose Sensing

Abstract

Among the numerous transition metal hydroxide materials, cobalt- and nickel-based hydroxides have been extensively studied for their excellent electrochemical performances such as non-enzymatic electrochemical sensors. Binary cobalt-nickel hydroxide has received extensive attention for its exceptionally splendid electrochemical behaviors as a promising glucose sensor material. In this work, we report the synthesis of three-dimensional amorphous Co-Ni hydroxide nanostructures with homogeneous distribution of elements via a simple and chemically clean electrochemical deposition method. The amorphous Co-Ni hydroxide, as a non-enzymatic glucose sensor material, exhibits a superior biosensing performance toward glucose detection for its superior electron transfer capability, high specific surface area, and abundant intrinsic redox couples of Ni2+/Ni3+ and Co2+/Co3+/Co4+ ions. The as-synthesized amorphous Co-Ni hydroxide holds great potential in glucose monitoring and detection as non-enzymatic glucose sensors with high sensitivity 1911.5 μA mM−1 cm−2 at low concentration, wide linear range of 0.00025–1 mM and 1–5 mM, low detection limit of 0.127 μM, super long-term stability, and excellent selectivity in 0.5 M NaOH solution.