Bimetallic MCo (M = Cu, Fe, Ni, and Mn) nanoparticles doped-carbon nanofibers synthetized by electrospinning for nonenzymatic glucose detection

A series of bimetallic MCo (M = Cu, Fe, Ni, and Mn) nanoparticles anchored and embedded in carbon nanofibers (CFs) have been synthesized by electrospinning and subsequent thermal treatment processes for the first time. The contents, structures, and morphologies of MCo-CFs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, N-2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction, etc. The characterization results reveal that the three-dimensional network films are assembled by bimetallic MCo alloys doped-extremely long CFs except MnCo-CFs. The performances for non-enzymatic glucose detection were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Detection results display that, the catalytic abilities obey the order of CuCo-CFs > FeCo-CFs > NiCo-CFs > Co-CFs > MnCo-CFs. It is clear that, benefit from the structural advantages of the 3-D network films and the synergistic effect of the Co(III)/Co(IV) and Cu(II)/Cu(III) redox couples, CuCo-CFs display the best detection efficiency even for the glucose detection in human serum samples (as shown by a large sensitivity of 507 mu A cm(-2)mM(-1), a response time within 2 s, a linear range from 0.02 to 11 mM, good reproducibility, considerable long-term stability, and excellent anti-interference to electroactive molecules or Cl-). The superior catalytic activity, excellent stability, good selectivity, low cost, and ease of fabrication make CuCo-CFs very promising for developing an electro-chemical device to direct detection glucose. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.