A ternary nanooxide NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− as efficient solid superacid catalysts for electro-oxidation of glucose

•Solid superacid catalysts NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− was synthesized by a facile method.•NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− nanocatalyst has high activity for electro-oxidation of glucose.•Catalytic current density of NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− increased 27% compared with NiO.

A ternary composite of NiO and TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− solid superacid were synthesized and investigated as efficient anode catalysts for glucose electrooxidation. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), the precursors were found to convert into corresponding nanooxides. They were well dispersed with a size of approximate 70 nm. The nanostructure was also analyzed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that NiO-TiO2-ZrO2 nanooxides were modified by SO42− and solid superacid NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− have been synthesized. The electrochemical measurements indicated that, compared with NiO, the current density of NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− modified GC electrode increased 27% in 0.1 M NaOH solution with 10 mM glucose. Moreover, the kinetic results showed that the glucose electrooxidation on NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− is a surface controlling process. In a word, NiO-TiO2-ZrO2/SO42− nanoparticles possessed high catalytic activity and good stability in alkaline medium for glucose oxidation reaction (GOR).