Au3Cu nanosquares and frames for glucose sensor and CO oxidation catalyst

Au–Cu bimetallic nanomaterials have attracted tremendous attention in the field of catalysis, water splitting, biosensor and biotherapy. Au3Cu nanocrystals with a definite stoichiometric ratio and ordered arrangement of atoms have shown great potential for efficient catalyts. Herein, we reported a new method for fabrication of Au3Cu nanocrystals. Their morphologies can be tuned by the amount of hydrochloric aqueous solution, including nanosquare and frame were achieved, respectively. The as-synthesized Au3Cu nanosquares not only demonstrated a comparatively high sensitivity of 324.8 μA mM−1 cm−2 as a non-enzymatic glucose sensor but also performed well in CO catalytic oxidation even at 50 °C with a conversion efficiency of 30 mmol g−1 h−1.