Synthesis of silver nanoparticles-decorated poly(m-aminophenol) nanofibers and their application in a non-enzymatic glucose biosensor

Silver nanoparticles-decorated poly(m-aminophenol) nanofibers (PmAPNFs) was prepared through the initial synthesis of PmAPNFs via chemical polymerization of m-aminophenol with ammonium persulfate (APS) and NaOCl as oxidizing agents, followed by thermo-chemical reduction of Ag+ ions into Ag nanoparticles on the PmAPNFs. Different spectroscopic and morphological analyses confirmed the formation of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the surface of PmAPNFs. As-prepared PmAPNFs/AgNPs nanocomposite showed remarkable catalytic activity toward the electro-oxidation reaction of glucose in NaOH medium. The PmAPNFs/AgNPs based biosensor demonstrated a very low detection limit of 0.062 µM (S/N = 3) together with high sensitivity (17.45 µAmM−1 cm−2) and wide linear range (0.1 − 8 mM). It has short response time (∼7 s) even at lower concentration of glucose. It also exhibited strong tolerance against various electroactive interfering agents during glucose sensing process. The present PmAPNFs/AgNPs nanocomposite could be a promising material for the fabrication of highly sensitive, environment-friendly and low-cost enzyme-free glucose sensor devices.