A facile strategy for the synthesis of hierarchical CuO nanourchins and their application as non-enzymatic glucose sensors

Abstract

We have demonstrated a facile strategy for synthesizing hierarchical CuO nanourchins (<300 nm) made from nanopetal building blocks by using a Cu₂O-templated oxidative method. These hierarchical CuO nanourchins can serve as a promising electrode material and display an excellent response to glucose in comparison to interfering agents that normally co-exist in solution (such as ascorbic acid, uric acid and sodium chloride). The linear detection range is estimated to be from 50 μM to 5 mM at +0.57 V vs. Ag/AgCl (correlation coefficient = 0.9996), and the sensitivity is 1634 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻². The as-prepared hierarchical CuO nanourchins open up a new avenue for exploring the synthesis of highly sensitive CuO nanostructures for potential applications in the field of enzyme-free amperometric sensing of glucose. Significantly, it is anticipated that different nanostructured Cu₂O templates can be utilized to synthesize new forms of CuO nanomaterial.