In this work we report on the controlled electrodeposition of gold-silver alloys at microdisc arrays to form nanoporous gold (NPG) upon silver removal. NPG is characterised by a sponge-like 3D network composed of interconnecting nanopores and nanoligaments. It is also chemically inert, corrosion resistant and biocompatible. These characteristics make NPG an attractive electrochemical platform for many applications such as electrocatalysis[1, 2] and biosensing[3]. We will show that simulated and corresponding experimental measurements for electrodes based on the microdisc array offer the potential for signal amplification arising from individual radial diffusion occurring at each microdisc. Through further post-processing of the microdisc array we will describe an electroless deposition process for conformal nanoscale active materials deposition to enhance analysis for specific analytes such as for phosphate detection.

1. Nagle, L.C. and J.F. Rohan, Nanoporous gold anode catalyst for direct borohydride fuel cell. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2011. 36(16): p. 10319-10326.
2. Nagle, L.C. and J.F. Rohan, Nanoporous Gold Catalyst for Direct Ammonia Borane Fuel Cells. Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 2011. 158(7): p. B772-B778.
3. Galvin, P., et al., Nanoenabling electrochemical sensors for life sciences applications. Journal of Materials Research, 2017. 32(15): p. 2883-2904.