ABSTRACT The research on finding new and efficient catalysts for important electrochemical reactions such as glucose oxidation has never ceased since it is of core interest in the development of important devices such as fuel cells and biosensors. Electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose is an important topic both from the academic and technological points of view. While many researchers have treated the issue from the analytical chemistry point of view, others have studied this reaction (oxidation of glucose) as a half-cell reaction in biofuel cells. Precious metals such as platinum, gold and palladium are in many cases unavoidable candidates for glucose oxidation. However, these noble metals, in addition to their high cost, suffer from high susceptibility to poisoning by oxidation products. Thus scientists have been offering solutions to replace such costly noble metals with low-cost metals and metal oxides such as NiO, CuO and MnO2. In recent years metal oxide nanoparticle-based electrodes have been used for glucose oxidation in alkaline solutions. On one hand, they meet the necessities of the development of biofuel cells and on the other, they aid the development of biosensors directed towards glucose sensing in blood and in food industry. In this context, this review is intended to shed some light on the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose using metal oxide (both single and binary) nanoparticle-based electrodes. Special attention is given to the methods of synthesis of such nanoparticles, surface techniques for their characterization and applications to glucose oxidation in alkaline solutions.
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