Fabrication of cuprous sulfide nanorods supported on copper foam for nonenzymatic amperometric determination of glucose and hydrogen peroxide

Abstract

Cu₂S nanorods supported on three-dimensional copper foam (Cu₂S NRs@Cu foam) are in situ prepared by a low-cost and facile method. The structural and morphological characterization of the Cu₂S NRs@Cu foam is executed using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The high conductivity of copper foam as a current collector can facilitate charge and mass transfer, and the copper foam with an open framework provides large amounts of anchoring sites for the deposition of Cu₂S NWs during the synthesis of the Cu₂S NRs@Cu foam. Consequently, the Cu₂S NRs@Cu foam works as an electrocatalyst for the detection of glucose and H₂O₂. Electrochemical measurements of the biosensor show an extremely high sensitivity of 11.7508 mA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² and a low detection limit of 0.07 μM for the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose. The nonenzymatic sensor also exhibits a good response toward hydrogen peroxide with a high sensitivity of 1.686 mA mM⁻¹ cm⁻². The detection limit is calculated to be 0.2 μM. This method provides an efficient and promising strategy for the construction of practical non-enzymatic glucose and hydrogen peroxide sensors.