Metallic Cu dendrite modified Ni(OH)2/nanoporous Ni for high-performance non-enzyme glucose sensors

This work successfully synthesizes a new type of multi-layered flexible hybrid electrode (Cu/Ni(OH) 2 /np-Ni) composing of bimetallic components, hierarchical porous structure and outstanding glucose electrocatalytic performance. The synthesis strategy includes a facile two-step approach, i.e. the Ni(OH) 2 nanolayer in-situ grows on a nanoporous Ni (np-Ni) network (Ni(OH) 2 /np-Ni) via deionized water immersion and then the metallic Cu dendrites are uniformly deposited on Ni(OH) 2 /np-Ni. Moreover, due to the hierarchical porous structure as well as synergetic effect of Ni(OH) 2 and Cu dual electroactive components, the Cu/Ni(OH) 2 /np-Ni hybrid electrode electrodeposited with 1 min delivers wider linear range of 18 mM and higher sensitivity of 1.629 mA mM −1 cm −2 . The electrode possesses excellent interference immunity, reproducibility as well as long-time stability. In addition, the mechanism of electrochemical sensors for detecting glucose under alkaline conditions is briefly introduced. Accordingly, the flexible Cu/Ni(OH) 2 /np-Ni electrode material shows promise for further development as a contender for wearable glucose sensors.