Synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles on graphene-carbon nanotube hybrid for glucose biosensor applications

Synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles incorporated graphene-carbon nanotubes hybrid (GR-CNT-ZnO) through a simple, one-pot method is demonstrated. The as-synthesized GR-CNT-ZnO composite is applied to fabricate an enzyme based glucose biosensor. The GOx immobilized on GR-CNT-ZnO composite exhibits well-defined redox peaks with a peak potential separation (ΔEp) of about 26 mV with enhanced peak currents, indicating a fast electron transfer at the modified electrode surface. The cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed that the modified film has high electrocatalytic ability towards glucose detection in the presence of oxygen. The proposed sensor has a wide linear detection range from 10 μM to 6.5 mM of glucose with a limit of detection (LOD) of 4.5 (±0.08) μM. In addition, the sensor possessed appreciable repeatability, reproducibility and remarkable stability for the sensitive determination of glucose. The practicality of this sensor has been demonstrated in human serum samples, with results being in good agreement with those determined using a standard photometric method.