In situ growth of Ni-B nanoparticles on Ni foam: An efficient 3D integrated anode for enzyme-free glucose detection

It is very attractive to construct 3D integrated enzyme-free electrodes for sensitive and selective glucose sensing. In this paper, a novel 3D integrated electrode based on amorphous Ni-B nanoparticle grown on Ni foams (Ni-B/NF) was presented and used for enzyme-free glucose detection. Ni-B/NF was prepared via a simply and rapid electroless deposition with dipping Ni foams into NiCl₂ precursors and NaBH₄ reducing solutions alternatively. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that Ni-B/NF has excellent catalytic activity for glucose oxidation and can be used as an efficient enzyme-free electrochemical sensor, with a short response time less than 10 s, a wide detection range from 5 μM to 2.66 mM, a response sensitivity of 8.25 mA mM ⁻¹ cm ⁻², and a low detection limit of 5 μM (S/N = 3). Moreover, the selectivity and reliability for practical application in blood glucose detection of the as-fabricated sensor were also investigated in detail.