A non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on electrospun 3-D copper oxide micro-nanofiber network films using carboxylic-functionalized poly(arylene ether ketone)s as templates

Benefitting from the carboxylic functional group, the high performance polymer PCA-PAEK was first used as a template to produce 3-D rope-like CuO micro-nanofiber (CuO-MNF) network films via electrospinning and subsequent calcination. FT-IR proved the ion exchange reaction between the template and Cu(2+) ions, and demonstrated the final structure of CuO when combined with EDX and XRD spectra. SEM and TGA revealed the small amount of Cu(2+) immobilized on the template, resulting in small diameter (348 nm), short length and 3-D network structure of the CuO-MNFs. The CuO-MNFs were then investigated in detail for direct electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose, which was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Results revealed a higher sensitivity, faster response and better anti-interference than CuO-MNFs produced from traditional templates at +0.40 V. The improved performance was ascribed to the high surface-to-volume ratio and the excellent 3-D network structure after immobilization. Therefore, it was concluded that the functional group on PCA-PAEK determined the morphology and performance of the CuO-MNFs.