Three-Dimensional CeO₂ Woodpile Nanostructures To Enhance Performance of Enzymatic Glucose Biosensors

Fabrication of detection elements with ultrahigh surface area is essential for improving the sensitivity of analyte detection. Here, we report a direct patterning technique to fabricate three-dimensional CeO2 nanoelectrode arrays for biosensor application over relatively large areas. The fabrication approach, which employs nanoimprint lithography and a CeO2 nanoparticle-based ink, enables the direct, high-throughput patterning of nanostructures and is scalable, integrable, and of low cost. With the convenience of sequential imprinting, multilayered woodpile nanostructures with prescribed numbers of layers were achieved in a “stacked-up” architecture and were successfully fabricated over large areas. To demonstrate application as a biosensor, an enzymatic glucose sensor was developed. The sensitivity of glucose sensors can be enhanced simply by increasing the number of layers, which multiplies surface area while maintaining a constant footprint. The four-layer woodpile nanostructure of CeO2 glucose sensor exhibited enhanced sensitivity (42.8 μA mM–1 cm–2) and good selectivity. This direct imprinting strategy for three-dimensional sensing architectures is potentially extendable to other electroactive materials and other sensing applications.