ZnO nanoflakes as a template for in-situ electrodeposition of nanostructured cobalt electrodes as amperometric phosphate sensors

Abstract In this work, a novel method using hydrothermal grown ZnO nanoflakes as a template for nanostructured metal film electroplating was proposed. Compared with the commonly used anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template, the in-situ grown ZnO nanoflake template can be applied for large area electroplating with a relatively simple process. This method was applied for nanostructured cobalt electrode electroplating. The fabricated electrode was then tested for in situ phosphate detection in aqueous environments. The results showed that the ZnO nanoflake template successfully incorporated nanostructure into a cobalt film, and compared with a planar cobalt film, the sensor’s limit of detection (LOD) was improved by an order of magnitude.