Seed-mediated synthesis of copper nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes and their application in nonenzymatic glucose biosensors

In this paper, for the first time, Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs) were prepared by seed-mediated growth method with Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) playing the role of seeds. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and AuNPs were first dropped on the surface of glassy carbon (GC) electrode, and then the electrode was immersed into growth solution that contained CuSO4 and hydrazine. CuNPs were successfully grown on the surface of the CNTs. The modified electrode showed a very high electrochemical activity for electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose in alkaline medium, which was utilized as the basis of the fabrication of a nonenzymatic biosensor for electrochemical detection of glucose. The biosensor can be applied to the quantification of glucose with a linear range covering from 1.0 × 10−7 to 5 × 10−3 M and a low detection limit of 3 × 10−8 M. Furthermore, the experiment results also showed that the biosensor exhibited good reproducibility and long-term stability, as well as high selectivity with no interference from other oxidable species.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Seed-mediated method was introduced to prepare of the Cu nanoparticles (CuNPs). ► The CuNPs modified electrode shows high electrocatalytic ability to glucose oxidation in alkaline solution. ► The CuNPs modified electrode has been used to construct a novel nonenzymatic glucose biosensor.