Direct growth of vertically aligned arrays of Cu(OH)2 nanotubes for the electrochemical sensing of glucose

Vertically aligned arrays of Cu(OH)2 nanotubes were grown directly on the copper substrate via a simple one-step reaction. The evolution of microstructure and morphology of the direct growth Cu(OH)2 films with the reaction time were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). 6 hours’ direct growth resulted in a vertically aligned arrays consisted of Cu(OH)2 nanotubes, as revealed by SEM, XRD and FT-IR characterizations. Without any post-treatment, series Cu(OH)2 films were demonstrated directly as electrode materials for electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose, and the dependence of their electro-oxidation performances on reaction time was evaluated by electrochemical techniques. The arrays obtained via 6 hours’ growth exhibited excellent electrochemical performances for glucose oxidation, presenting a low peak potential, high current, fast kinetics and high current-to-background ratio, even in comparison with the CuO nanoflower films obtained similarly by prolonging reaction time. Above superior catalytic performances were attributed to high crystallinity of the Cu(OH)2 tubular structure and the vertical alignment of the nanotubes. The possibility of direct application of Cu(OH)2 nanotube arrays as a sensing electrode was also demonstrated. Results suggest that Cu(OH)2 nanotube arrays synthesized by the one-step strategy is a promising electrode material for designing and fabricating glucose sensors.