Nanoporous platinum–cobalt alloy for electrochemical sensing for ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, and glucose

• NP–PtCo alloy is fabricated by dealloying PtCoAl alloy in mild alkaline solution.
• NP–PtCo alloy exhibits hierarchical three-dimensional nanoporous structure.
• NP–PtCo shows good sensing performances toward ethanol, H2O2, and glucose.
• NP–PtCo shows good anti-interference toward UA, AA, and DA for H2O2 detection.

Nanoporous platinum–cobalt (NP–PtCo) alloy with hierarchical nanostructure is straightforwardly fabricated by dealloying PtCoAl alloy in a mild alkaline solution. Selectively etching Al resulted in a hierarchical three-dimensional network nanostructure with a narrow size distribution at 3 nm. The as-prepared NP–PtCo alloy shows superior performance toward ethanol and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with highly sensitive response due to its unique electrocatalytic activity. In addition, NP–PtCo also exhibits excellent amperometric durability and long-term stability for H2O2 as well as a good anti-interference toward ascorbic acid, uric acid, and dopamine. The hierarchical nanoporous architecture in PtCo alloy is also highly active for glucose sensing electrooxidation and sensing in a wide linear range. The NP–PtCo alloy holds great application potential for electrochemical sensing with simple preparation, unique catalytic activity, and high structure stability.

Nanoporous (NP) PtCo alloy was easily fabricated by dealloying of PtCoAl ternary alloy in a mild alkaline solution. Selectively etching of Al resulted in a hierarchical three-dimensional network nanostructure with a narrow size distribution at 3 nm. The as-made NP–PtCo alloy shows superior sensing ability toward ethanol, H2O2, and glucose with highly sensitive response and wider linear range compared with Pt/C catalyst. NP–PtCo also exhibits excellent amperometric durability and long-term stability for H2O2 as well as a good anti-interference toward ascorbic acid, uric acid, and dopamine.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide