Flexible Nonenzymatic Glucose Sensing with One-Step Laser-Fabricated Cu₂O/Cu Porous Structure

Integrated flexible nonenzymatic electrochemical glucose sensors have attracted substantial interest because they enable portable noninvasive glucose detection stably and accurately. Manufacturing of these sensors generally requires complex step-by-step processes, including synthesis of noble and functional materials, patterning the as-synthesized noble materials into electrodes/contacts, and subsequent working electrode functionalizing. Herein, the one-step fabrication of a working electrode and electrical contacts on a flexible substrate for an integrated sensor is realized through laser writing of a low-cost Cu ionic precursor. The obtained Cu₂O/Cu porous structure not only has a low sheet resistance of 1.3 Ω sq⁻¹ to ensure signal transmission in the sensor, but also provides a remarkable sensing performance for glucose detection, especially at a low detection potential of 0.3 V and a low detection limit of 0.34 μm. Due to its anti-interference and flexibility, the integrated sensor has the potential to directly detect trace amounts of glucose in body fluids as demonstrated in sweat sensing. This work highlights an efficient route to fabricate low-cost integrated flexible electrochemical sensors.