Hyper-Branched Cu@Cu₂O Coaxial Nanowires Mesh Electrode for Ultra-Sensitive Glucose Detection.

Electrode design in nanoscale is expected to contribute significantly in constructing an enhanced electrochemical platform for a superb sensor. In this work, we present a facile synthesis of new fashioned heteronanostructure that is composed of one-dimensional Cu nanowires (NWs) and epitaxially grown two-dimensional Cu2O nanosheets (NSs). This hierarchical architecture is quite attractive in molecules detection for three unique characteristics: (1) the three-dimensional hierarchical architecture provides large specific surface areas for more active catalytic sites and easy accessibility for the target molecules; (2) the high-quality heterojunction with minimal lattice mismatch between the built-in current collector (Cu core) and active medium (Cu2O shell) considerably promotes the electron transport; (3) the adequate free space between branches and anisotropic NWs can accommodate a large volume change to avoid collapse or distortion during the reduplicative operation processes under applied potentials. The above three proposed advantages have been addressed in the fabricated Cu@Cu2O NS-NW-based superb glucose sensors, where a successful integration of ultrahigh sensitivity (1420 μA mM(-1) cm(-2)), low limit of detection (40 nM), and fast response (within 0.1 s) has been realized. Furthermore, the durability and reproducibility of such devices made by branched core-shell nanowires were investigated to prove viability of the proposed structures. This achievement in current work demonstrates an innovative strategy for nanoscale electrode design and application in molecular detection.