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

Electrocatalytic glucose oxidation reaction (GOR) has attracted much attention owing to its crucial role in biofuel cell fabrication. Herein, we load MoO3 nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and use a discharge process to prepare a noble-metal-free MC-60 catalyst containing MoO3, Mo2C, and a Mo2C–MoO3 interface. In the GOR, MC-60 shows activity as high as 745 µA/(mmol/L cm2), considerably higher than those of the Pt/CNT (270 µA/(mmol/L cm2)) and Au/CNT catalysts (110 µA/(mmol/L cm2)). 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 MoO3–Mo2C 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.