Electrochemical deposition of CoNi micro/nanostructures as new materials for electrochemical sensing of glucose

• CoNi films and nanowires for sensing glucose in basic medium.
• Amperometric detection from cyclic voltammetry or chronoamperometry.
• Influence of shape and composition of the structures in glucose oxidation current.

CoNi micro/nanostructures (films and nanowires of different composition) have been obtained by electrodeposition, and tested as catalysts for glucose electro-oxidation, resulting promising material for non-enzymatic glucose sensors. Electrodeposition is an easy, low cost and one-step procedure able to prepare, from a single solution, films or nanorods with different composition, shape and morphology. For the first time, the electrocatalytic activity of glassy carbon/CoNi nanorods electrodes has been tested for glucose sensing, and compared with that of CoNi films. Voltamperometry and chronoamperometry techniques allow sensing the glucose over the CoNi structures prepared, after their superficial oxidation. The best sensitivity was obtained in the 0.1–1 mM range for the CoNi films with 42 wt% Co and the CoNi nanorods with 70 wt% Co. The main advantage of the nanorods with respect to the films is the minimization of the amount of sensing material for the same geometrical area.

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