Efficient Nonenzymatic Sensors Based on Ni-MOF Microspheres Decorated with Au Nanoparticles for Glucose Detection

Au nanoparticles were decorated on Ni-based metal–organic frameworks to improve their electrochemical performance for nonenzymatic glucose detection through a convenient and fast microwave-assisted process. Various techniques including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray mapping and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the Au@Ni-BTC composites. The results revealed that Au nanoparticles were uniformly deposited on the Ni-BTC microspheres. The constructed Au@Ni-BTC sensors showed highly increased glucose detection performance with a wide linear range (5–7400 μM), high sensitivity (1447.1 μA mM−1 cm−2) and low detection limit (1.5 μM). Moreover, they also exhibited good selectivity and preferable feasibility for serum sample analysis. The improved glucose sensing performance may be due to the synergistic effects of Au nanoparticles and Ni-BTC, which facilitated faster charge transfer in the electrochemical process. The study of Au@Ni-BTC may also provide a promising material for constructing highly efficient nonenzymatic glucose sensors.