Ni nanoparticles decorated titania nanotube arrays as efficient nonenzymatic glucose sensor

A novel nonenzymatic glucose sensor was developed based on the Ni nanoparticles-loaded TiO2 nanotube arrays (Ni-NPs/TiO2NTs). The Ni-NPsrfiO(2)NTs nanocomposites were prepared first by anodization of Ti foil, followed by pulsed electrodeposition method (PED) and characterized by SEM, XRD and XPS respectively. The results showed that spherical Ni nanoparticles were well dispersed and embedded in the TiO2NTs. The electrochemical measurements presented that the activated Ni-NPs with a diameter of 40 nm displayed high electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of glucose and a good sensitivity of 700.2 mu A mM(-1) cm(-2) at applied potential 0.6V, with detection limit of 2 mu M (S/N =3), and good linear range (from 0.004 to 4.8 mM). Such high sensitivity was attributed to the large surface area of the highly dispersed nanoparticles for electrocatalytic reaction and the fast electron transfer in the TiO2NTs electrode. The good analytical performance, low cost and simple preparation method make this novel electrode material promising for the development of effective glucose nonenzymatic glucose sensor. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.