Amperometric Determination of Glucose at Physiological pH by an Electrode Modified with a Composite Ni/Al-Layered Double Hydroxide and Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide

Films of a Ni/Al-layered double hydroxide intercalated with reduced graphene oxide were deposited, by means of a simple and rapid electrochemical synthesis, on Pt electrodes previously submitted to a special cleaning procedure. The aim of the research was to determine whether the better electrocatalytic properties of the Ni(III)/Ni(II) couple, due to the presence of the carbon nanomaterial, as compared to the Ni/Al-LDH alone, could allow glucose detection at physiological pHs, as normally LDHs work as redox mediators in basic solutions. Chronoamperometric experiments were carried out by applying a potential of 1.0 V vs. SCE to the electrode soaked in solutions buffered at pHs from 5.0 to 9.0 to which glucose was continuously added. The steady-state currents increased as the pH solution increased, but at pH = 7.0 the modified electrode exhibited a fast and rather sensitive response, which was linear up to 10.0 mM glucose, with a sensitivity of 0.56 A M-1 cm-2 and a limit of detection of 0.05 mM. Our results suggest the potential application of Ni/Al-LDH(ERGO) composite for the non-enzymatic detection of glucose or other oxidizable analytes under biological conditions.