Fabrication of Non-enzymatic Ni–Au Alloy Nanowire Glucose Sensor

Abstract

We fabricated a non-enzymatic Ni-Au alloy nanowire electrochemical glucose sensor on a p-silicon-based anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The advantages of the Ni-Au glucose sensor are its high sensitivity and stability, and fast reaction. In contrast to a traditional enzymatic glucose sensor, the non-enzymatic glucose sensor is reusable, enabling its long-term use by patients with diabetes. Although the reduction voltages of Ni and Au are considerably different, the Ni-Au alloy nanowires used in the sensor were fabricated successfully via the adjustment of the electrodeposition parameters. The Ni-Au alloy nanowires exhibited a high crystallinity and a uniform arrangement with an average height of 750 nm. The Ni-Au alloy glucose sensor exhibited a linear range of 0-3 mM, a sensitivity of 1893 μA/mMcm 2 , and a detection limit of 1 μM. Superior selectivity and stability over at least 30 days were also observed. The characteristics show that Ni-Au alloy nanowires have excellent glucose-sensing performance compared with single noble metal nanowires. The silicon-based AAO template also serves as a strong mechanical support of the Ni-Au nanowires used for sensing. To our knowledge, our fabricated sensor is the first non-enzymatic glucose sensor to use Ni-Au alloy nanowires.

Recent Advances in Materials for Enzyme-free Electrochemical Glucose Sensors

“…(77) Hsieh et al fabricated an enzymefree Ni-Au alloy nanowire electrochemical glucose sensor. (78) Li et al chose to synthesize a Ni-Ag hybrid NP layer on SWCNTs as an electrocatalyst for glucose oxidation and then obtained a glucose sensor with high sensitivity and low detection rate. (37) The working potential, sensitivity, selectivity, electrolyte solution, linear range, and detection limit of each metal-based enzyme-free glucose sensor are summarized in Table 1.…”