Electrodeposited highly porous gold microelectrodes for the direct electrocatalytic oxidation of aqueous glucose

High-surface area electrode materials are particularly relevant for a vast range of applications, especially in the field of catalysis and electrochemical energy conversion (e.g. fuel cells). s work high surface area gold electrodes were produced by direct electrodeposition of highly porous gold (hPG) films onto gold electrodes via a very fast (15 s), simple, and cost-effective methodology that involves a hydrogen bubble template. This methodology was also successfully applied to gold microelectrodes produced by lift-off lithography, thus paving the way for interesting lab-on-a-chip applications. G electrodes showed very high sensitivity towards glucose, with a detection limit of 5 μM. This reactivity was maintained when the electrodes were tested in artificial urine, thus encouraging their use in healthcare. G electrodes showed high sensitivity also towards other aldoses and other reducing sugars (maltose, lactose, galactose).