Glycine-assisted preparation of Co3O4 nanoflakes with enhanced performance for non-enzymatic glucose sensing

In this study a simple, inexpensive and efficient route is proposed to synthesise attractive cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanostructures using glycine as an effective growth controller and regulator. The as-synthesised Co3O4 nanostructures were observed to possess unique nanoflake shape morphological features with highly dense distribution. The formation of Co3O4 nanoflakes (Co3O4 NFKs) was elaborately explored using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. The unique Co3O4 nanoflakes were known to possess excellent electro-catalytic potential for the oxidation of glucose in alkaline medium. This potential property allowed successful development of highly sensitive (1180 mu A mM(-1) cm(-2)), selective and stable non-enzymatic glucose sensor. In addition, the developed sensor had a wide working range (0.1-5.0 mM), low limit of detection (0.7 mu M), and excellent reproducibility, besides the capability of analysing real blood glucose samples.