Bifunctional and highly sensitive electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose and hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on NiCo2O4 nanoflowers decorated 3D nitrogen doped holey graphene hydrogel.

In this work, a simple strategy for fabricating a 3D nitrogen doped holey graphene hydrogel decorated with NiCo2O4 nanoflowers (NHGH/NiCo2O4) via a one-pot hydrothermal method with subsequent calcination is reported for the first time. The novel NHGH/NiCo2O4 nanocomposites featured high electrical conductivity, large and accessible surface areas, abundant active sites, and excellent electrocatalytic performance. Considering the excellent catalytic activity of NiCo2O4, a sensitive and bifunctional electrochemical non-enzymatic biosensor was established for the determination of glucose and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The obtained biosensor exhibited wide linear ranges (glucose: 0.005-10.95 mM; H2O2: 1-510 μM) and a low detection limits (glucose: 0.39 μM; H2O2: 0.136 μM) in alkaline solution (S/N = 3). Excellent electrocatalytic activity of this sensor was ascribed to the synergistic effects of the hybrid structure between the NiCo2O4 nanoflowers and NHGH. Furthermore, the sensitive biosensor also exhibited high selectivity and could be applied to determine glucose in real blood samples. Taken together, the results reveal that the proposed hybrid nanocomposite could be a promising electrochemical biosensor.