Effects of the surface morphologies of ZnO nanotube arrays on the performance of amperometric glucose sensors

Amperometric glucose sensors have been fabricated with glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilized on ZnO nanotubes (ZnONTs) by physical adsorption. The ZnONTs were formed through selective dissolution of ZnO nanorods (ZnONRs) which were hydrothermally synthesized on Au cylindrical spiral (AuCS) electrodes. With the etching temperature regulated, the surface morphologies of the ZnONT arrays were tailored and their effects on the performance of the corresponding glucose sensors were investigated. It is found that at 65 °C the as-prepared ZnONT arrays show a Gaussian rough surface with larger surface area and better hydrophilicity, and have an effective solid–liquid interface with GOx solution, which further results in desirable GOx immobilization. Therefore favorable performance of the ZnONT-based glucose sensor was obtained, such as the sensitivity 2.63 μA/(mM cm²), linear range 0–6.5 mM, low detection limit 8 μM (S/N=3) and Michaelis-Menten constant 5.24 mM, which are superior to that of the ZnONR-based one. Moreover, the ZnONT-based glucose sensor exhibits good long-term stability, and excellent anti-interference ability to uric acid and ascorbic acid. The results can also be used for the performance optimization and the process standardization of other ZnONT-based amperometric biosensors.