Boosted Electrocatalytic Glucose Oxidation Reaction on Noble-Metal-Free MoO3-Decorated Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract Electrocatalytic glucose oxidation reaction (GOR) has attracted much attention owing to its crucial role in biofuel cell fabrication. Herein, we load MoO 3 nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and use a discharge process to prepare a noble-metal-free MC-60 catalyst containing MoO 3 , Mo 2 C, and a Mo 2 C–MoO 3 interface. In the GOR, MC-60 shows activity as high as 745 µA/(mmol/L cm 2 ), considerably higher than those of the Pt/CNT (270 µA/(mmol/L cm 2 )) and Au/CNT catalysts (110 µA/(mmol/L cm 2 )). In the GOR, the response minimum on MC-60 is as low as 8 µmol/L, with a steady-state response time of only 3 s. Moreover, MC-60 has superior stability and anti-interference ability to impurities in the GOR. The better performance of MC-60 in the GOR is attributed to the abundant Mo sites bonding to C and O atoms at the MoO 3 –Mo 2 C interface. These Mo sites create active sites for promoting glucose adsorption and oxidation, enhancing MC-60 performance in the GOR. Thus, these results help to fabricate more efficient noble-metal-free catalysts for the fabrication of glucose-based biofuel cells. Graphical abstract