Template-free synthesis of hierarchically porous NaCoPO4–Co3O4 hollow microspheres and their application as electrocatalysts for glucose

Abstract

Hierarchically porous NaCoPO₄–Co₃O₄ hollow microspheres are successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method and calcination in air. It is found that the as-prepared hierarchically porous NaCoPO₄–Co₃O₄ hollow microspheres exhibit good catalytic activity for the oxidation of glucose, shows a fast amperometric response time of less than 5 s, and the detection limit is estimated to be 0.125 μM. More importantly, compared with other normally co-existing electroactive species (such as ascorbic acid, uric acid and dopamine), the electrode modified with hierarchically porous NaCoPO₄–Co₃O₄ hollow microspheres shows good selectivity. These results suggest that hierarchically porous NaCoPO₄–Co₃O₄ hollow microspheres have promising application as electrocatalysts for quantitative determination of glucose with high sensitivity and selectivity.