Pt–Pb nanowire array electrode for enzyme-free glucose detection

Pt–Pb nanowire array was directly synthesized by electrochemical deposition of Pt–Pb alloy into the pores of microporous polycarbonate template and subsequent chemical etching of the template. The morphology and the composition of the Pt–Pb nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to evaluate the electrochemical performance of the Pt–Pb nanowire array electrode (Pt–PbNAE). Direct glucose oxidation on Pt–PbNAE was investigated in detail by discussing the effect of the structure and materials of the electrode on electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. As a result, we found that the Pt–PbNAE with a three-dimensional structure exhibited high electrocatalytic activity to glucose oxidation in neutral condition and could be used for the development of nonenzymatic glucose sensor. To effectively avoid the interference coming from ascorbic acid, a negative potential of −0.20 V was chosen for glucose detection, and the sensitivity of the sensor to glucose oxidation was 11.25 μA mM−1 cm−2 with a linearity up to 11 mM, and a detection limit of 8 μM (signal-to-noise ratio of 3).