Bamboo-mediated silver nanoparticles functionalized with activated carbon and their application for non-enzymatic glucose sensing

Abstract

A precise sensor to quickly identify glucose concentration is important for diabetic patients. In this study, the silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized by a green method using bamboo leaves extract solution. These Ag NPs were used for the functionalization of bamboo activated carbon (BAC) through chemical route with various weight percentages AgNPs/BAC 1 wt%, AgNPs/BAC 2 wt%, AgNPs/BAC 3 wt%, and these are used as an active modified electrode to fabricate non-enzymatic electrochemical sensors for detection of glucose content (in blood samples of the patients). The optical band gap, morphology, shape, size, and functional compositions were studied using advanced analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, UV–visible, FESEM, TEM, and FTIR spectra analysis. Moreover, the screen-printed gold electrode (SPGE) was used as a bare electrode, and electrochemical performance was done with the help of cyclic voltammetry. The Ag NPs/BAC 2 wt% showed better catalytic activity towards the glucose detection with an excellent sensitivity of 1872.32 µA mM−1 cm−2 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 µM within the linear range of 1 mM-2 mM. Based on this study, the AgNPs/BAC 2 wt% sample can be assumed to be an eco-friendly, low-cost glucose biosensor.