Ni3C/Ni Nanochains for Electrochemical Sensing of Glucose

Developing facile methods to prepare nonprecious metal-based electrocatalysts for sensing analysis of biomolecules is an attractive issue in the electrochemical and life science fields. In this work, we highlighted a strategy to facilely synthesize one-dimensional Ni3C/Ni nanochains with excellent electrocatalytic oxidation for glucose through a simple solvothermal method with the assistance of 2-methylimidazole. The characterization assays showed that 2-methylimidazole could effectively regulate the formation of the one-dimensional chain-like shape of the product, and meanwhile, provide the active carbon for the growth of the Ni3C. The electrochemical and density functional theory (DFT) studies revealed that the Ni3C component in the Ni3C/Ni nanochains was the critical catalytic site for glucose oxidation, while the metallic Ni can effectively promote the electron-transfer kinetics. Beneficial from both the structural and compositional advantages, the Ni3C/Ni nanochain-based sensor exhibits a wide linear range from 1.0 to 6.5 μM, a low determination limit of 0.28 μM, and a high sensitivity of 299.4 μA mM–1 cm–2 for glucose sensing analysis. We believe that the Ni3C/Ni nanochains with impressive electrocatalytic performance will be good candidates for electrochemical sensing of glucose in clinical applications.