In‐situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles on porous silicon nanostructure through galvanic displacement reaction and its application in construction of glucose screen printed sensor

In this work, a new nanocomposite as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)@ porous silicon (PSi) was synthesised through a simple galvanic displacement reaction between silver ions and silicon in the presence of hydrofluoric acid. The as‐prepared nanocomposites were characterised via field emission scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. Since the nanocomposite showed a greatly enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards the glucose oxidation in alkaline solution, Ag nanoparticles supported on PSi flour were used as a performance modifier in the construction of a new amperometric glucose screen‐printed carbon electrode. The enzymatic free glucose sensor based on AgNPs@PSi exhibited a wide linear dynamic range of 1 × 10 −6 –45.7 × 10 −3 M, with a detection limit of 6 × 10 −7 M at a signal‐to‐noise ratio of 3, and fast response (<3 s). Also, the response of the proposed sensor was selective towards glucose in the presence of common species such as ascorbic acid, dopamine, uric acid and Cl − ions. Finally, the sensor was successfully applied to determine glucose in human serum samples.