Ni3(PO4)2 nanoparticles decorated carbon sphere composites for enhanced non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Abstract

The Ni3(PO4)2/CSs composite microspheres were synthesized via a simple two step hydrothermal process. The composition and morphology of the microspheres were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD and XPS. The Ni3(PO4)2 nanoparticles with diameter less than 10 nm have been uniformly decorated on the carbon spheres. The formation mechanism of the Ni3(PO4)2/CSs and their corresponding glucose sensing process have also been proposed. The as prepared Ni3(PO4)2/CSs showed greatly enhanced performance for glucose sensing than that of Ni3(PO4)2, which may be due to the synergistic effect of Ni3(PO4)2 nanoparticles and carbon spheres resulting in a high efficiency of charge transfer. The Ni3(PO4)2/CSs modified electrodes exhibited excellent glucose sensing performance, with wide linear range of (5 μM–2.5 mM) and (2.5 mM–7.5 mM), and corresponding sensitivity of 480.153 μAmM−1cm−2 and 219.898 μAmM−1cm−2. The detection limit of the Ni3(PO4)2/Cs/GCE is found to be 1.67 μM (S/N = 3). Moreover, satisfactory results were also obtained using the as prepared sensor to analyze glucose concentration in serum samples. These results showed that Ni3(PO4)2/CSs can be a favorable electrochemical sensing material for constructing the non-enzymatic sensors.