Carbon nanocoils-nickel foam decorated with silver nanoparticles/sheets using a novel stirring assisted electrodeposition technique for non-enzymatic glucose sensor

Abstract A novel strategy has been adopted to prepare a free-standing three-dimensional (3D) electrode for nonenzymatic glucose electro-oxidation. Carbon nanocoils (CNCs) has been grown on the surface of nickel foam (NF) by catalyst assisted chemical vapors deposition to form a CNC@NF substrate. Subsequently, the 3D substrate has been coated with silver nanoparticles/sheets through electrodeposition under continuous stirring to form a network structure of Ag@CNC@NF electrode. Such a 3D catalyst electrode allows efficient diffusion and consequently boosts the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. Therefore, the 3D electrode provides excellent glucose sensing performance in terms of ultra-high sensitivity of 3.64 × 1010 μA mM−1 cm−2 and quick response time of 0.1s with a detection limit of 6 nM. These features make the sensor potentially practical candidate for application to biosensors.