Stable controlled growth of 3D CuO/Cu nanoflowers by surfactant-free method for non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide detection

Sensitive, convenient and rapid detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is highly desirable in fields like fundamental biological research, food industries, and clinical & environmental analysis. Herein, a hierarchical porous CuO/Cu flower-like active electrode material for non-enzymatic H2O2 sensor was synthesized via a low-cost and one-step chemical oxidation of Cu powder in water bath without surfactants. In order to discuss the growth mechanism of the product, products with different growth time length were fabricated. The electro-catalysis of all products were first exhibited by cyclic-voltammetry, and the product under 6 h reaction shows the best result. The detailed electro-catalytic behaviors of the best product (under 6 h reaction) are characterized by cyclic-voltammetry and amperometry under alkaline conditions. The materials have high sensitivity of 103 μA mM−1 cm−2 (R2 = 0.9979), low detection limit of 2 μmol/L and wide concentration range (from 2 μmol/L to 19.4 mmol/L). Large specific surface area and stabled nanostructure enabled good features, such as stability and sensitivity for the H2O2 determination.