Rectangular flake-like mesoporous NiCo2O4 as enzyme mimic for glucose biosensing and biofuel cell

Abstract

The rectangular flake-like mesoporous NiCo2O4 (meso-NiCo2O4) catalysts were first used in glucose bio-sensing and glucose biofuel cell (GBFC) as an enzyme mimic simultaneously. The meso-NiCo2O4 displayed excellent catalytic capability to glucose including a super-fast response time (within 1 s), a super-high sensitivity (662.31 μA (mmol L−1)−1 cm−2), and a super-low detection limit (0.3 nmol L−1 at S/N = 3) on the sensor. On the other hand, meso-NiCo2O4 provided great values in GBFC as anode material with an open circuit voltage of 0.63 V, a maximum power density of 0.092 mW cm−2, and a limiting current density of 1.3 mA cm−2, respectively. The preeminent catalytic abilities may be attributed to the large specific surface area resulting from the mesoporous structure and the surpassing intrinsic catalytic activity of NiCo2O4 itself. These significant findings may promote the development of the supersensitive detection of glucose and will undoubtedly widen the catalytic materials for biofuel cell electrodes.