Glucose-sensing abilities of mixed-metal (NiCo) Prussian blue analogs hollow nanocubes

NiCo Prussian blue analogs (PBA) with a structure of hollow nanocubes (NiCo PBA HNCs) are successfully prepared by simple static settlement at room temperature and ammonia etching method. The NiCo PBA HNCs exhibit an enhanced catalytic activity towards glucose oxidation. The three-dimensional NiCo PBA HNCs modified electrode form a novel glucose sensor which not involved the enzyme. The properties of glucose sensor based on NiCo PBA HNCs are explored by electrochemical technique, for instance, cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential impulse voltammetry (DPV) and typical amperometric-time method (i-t). As compared to pure Ni PBA HNCs and pure Co PBA HNCs, the NiCo PBA HNCs exhibit outstanding catalytic performance for electro-oxidation of glucose. The bimetal synergetic catalyst of Ni and Co in the NiCo PBA HNCs causes this sensor with superior oxidation capacity for glucose. The analysis of the experimental data prove that this glucose sensor based on NiCo PBA HNCs possesses wide linear range: 0.002 mM – 3.79 mM, low detection limit: 1.2 μM (S/N = 3), high sensitivity: 149 μA·mM−1·cm−2, as well as good selectivity. We further find that the proposed glucose sensors can be successfully applied to detect glucose levels in drinks experiment.