Ethylenediamine-assisted preparation of carbon nanofiber supported nickel oxide electrocatalysts for sensitive and durable detection of insulin

Abstract

A uniform nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticle decorated on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) hybrid with the assistance of ethylenediamine (EDA) following a simple on-spot pyrolysis route has been fabricated for insulin electrocatalytic oxidation. The fabricated hybrid displayed superior catalytic performance due to the synergetic effects between NiO nanoparticles and CNFs. Excellent analytical features, including high sensitivity (1.55 μA μM⁻¹), short response time (<3 s), low detection limit (12.1 nM) and satisfactory linear dynamic range (20–1020 nM) were achieved. Moreover, this EDA-CNFs-NiO hybrid showed good stability and antifouling property in a 0.1 M NaOH electrolyte toward insulin after successive potential cycling, which is highly required for a promising insulin electrocatalyst.