Pd-Ni-P metallic glass nanoparticles for nonenzymatic glucose sensing

Metallic glass nanoparticles hold great promise as nonenzymatic glucose sensors due to their rich low-coordinated active sites and high biocompatibility. However, their non-periodic atomic structure and unclear structure-property relationship pose significant challenges for realizing and optimizing their sensing performance. In this work, Pd–Ni–P metallic glass nanoparticles with variable compositions were successfully prepared as nonenzymatic glucose sensors via a laser-evaporated inert-gas condensation method. The electrochemical tests show that the sensor based on Pd_41·25Ni_41·25P_17.5 nanoparticles shows a wide linear detection range (0.003–1.31 ​mM), high sensitivity (516 ​μA ​mM⁻¹ ​cm⁻²), and high stability (∼97.8% current retention after 1000 cycles). Local structural investigations using synchrotron pair distribution function and high-resolution microscopic techniques reveal a strong structural correlation within short-to medium-range orders in the Pd_41·25Ni_41·25P_17.5 nanoparticles, which can be well retained after electrochemical cycling. These atomic-scale structural characteristics might be responsible for the high sensing performance. This study demonstrates the high applicability of Pd–Ni–P metallic glass nanoparticles as sensitive and stable non-enzymatic glucose sensors. © 2023 Chinese Materials Research Society. Published by Elsevier B.V.