Ni-Coated Diamond-like Carbon-Modified TiO2 Nanotube Composite Electrode for Electrocatalytic Glucose Oxidation

In this paper, a Ni and diamond-like carbon (DLC)-modified TiO₂ nanotube composite electrode was prepared as a glucose sensor using a combination of an anodizing process, electrodeposition, and magnetron sputtering. The composition and morphology of the electrodes were analyzed by a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray detector, and the electrochemical glucose oxidation performance of the electrodes was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results show that the Ni-coated DLC-modified TiO₂ electrode has better electrocatalytic oxidation performance for glucose than pure TiO₂ and electrodeposited Ni on a TiO₂ electrode, which can be attributed to the synergistic effect between Ni and carbon. The glucose test results indicate a good linear correlation in a glucose concentration range of 0.99–22.97 mM, with a sensitivity of 1063.78 μA·mM⁻¹·cm⁻² and a detection limit of 0.53 μM. The results suggest that the obtained Ni-DLC/TiO₂ electrode has great application potential in the field of non-enzymatic glucose sensors.