Tantalum oxide honeycomb architectures for the development of a non-enzymatic glucose sensor with wide detection range.

Tantalum oxide honeycomb nanostructures (THNS) were fabricated by electrochemical anodisation of tantalum in H2SO4-HF medium. XRD analysis showed that annealing of THNS at 400 °C improves the crystallinity. HRSEM and AFM results illustrated that nanopores with an average diameter of 30 nm were uniformly distributed and the pore size reduced to 24 nm and 18 nm during subsequent electrodeposition of Pt and CuO. Electrodeposited Pt and CuO exhibited face centered cubic (fcc) and monoclinic crystal structure respectively. Cyclic voltammetric studies revealed that, on the hybrid material electrooxidation of glucose occurs at a lower potential (0.45 V). The sensor exhibited linear response to glucose up to 31 mM, fast response time (<3 s) and a low detection limit of 1 μM (S/N=3). The sensor is free of interference from ascorbic acid, uric acid, dopamine and acetaminophen. Sensor was used to analyze glucose in blood serum samples.