Three-dimensional porous Ni, N-codoped C networks for highly sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Abstract

Carbon materials have received intensive attention due to their unique property in the field of electrochemical analysis. As transition metallic heteroatom and nitrogen-codoped carbon (M-N-C) materials commonly exhibit enhanced electrochemical activity for the tuned electronic structure, therefore, fabricating a novel structure of M-N-C material for electrochemical analysis is highly pursued. Herein, an in-situ self-growth NaCl-templated strategy is proposed to fabricate three-dimensional porous Ni, N-codoped carbon material (3D Ni-N-C). The as-obtained 3D Ni-N-C demonstrates superior electrochemical performance toward glucose oxidation and sensing, and a highly sensitive and selective non-enzymatic glucose sensor is subsequently developed for human serums with a wide linear range of 0.001–1.20 mM, low detection limit of 0.15 μM, and high sensitivity of 1181.0 μA mM−1 cm-2. It is believed that the unique structural properties of 3D Ni-N-C (abundant N-doped and Ni-N coordinated active sites, large surface area, open micro-porous structure) are conducive to the formation and exposure of highly catalytic centers and improvement of electron-transfer rate.