Soft-Template-Based Manufacturing of Gold Nanostructures for Energy and Sensing Applications

Area of Science:

• Bioelectronic Systems
• Nanomaterials
• Electrocatalysis

Background:

• Implantable and wearable bioelectronic systems offer tailored therapies for chronic disease management.
• Glucose fuel cells are promising for powering ultra-low-power bioelectronics and creating self-powered glucose sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To generate gold nanostructures via electrodeposition in soft templates for abiotic glucose electrocatalysis.
• To investigate the structural and electrocatalytic properties of gold nanostructures templated by lipid cubic phases and emulsions.
• To evaluate the performance of these nanostructures as anodes in abiotic glucose fuel cells.

Main Methods:

• Gold electrodeposition into two distinct soft templates: Phytantriol/Brij®-56 (lipid cubic phase) and hexane/SDS (emulsion).
• Characterization of gold nanostructures using Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM).
• Electrochemical evaluation of glucose electrocatalysis in a three-electrode setup and as an anode in a fuel cell configuration.

Main Results:

• Two distinct gold nanostructures were formed: nanofeather-like (Phytantriol/Brij®-56) and nanocoral-like (hexane/SDS).
• Templated electrodes showed comparable electrochemical active surface areas and high sensitivity to glucose (> 7 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²).
• The Phytantriol/Brij®-56 templated anode achieved a higher current density (70 μA cm⁻²) in a glucose fuel cell, reaching a maximum power density of 7 μW cm⁻².

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated cost-effective and efficient strategies for tailoring gold nanostructure morphology and catalytic properties.
• The developed gold nanostructures are suitable for functional abiotic glucose fuel cells.
• This work paves the way for advanced self-powered biosensors and bioelectronic devices.