Facile Water-Assisted Synthesis of Cupric Oxide Nanourchins\nand Their Application as Nonenzymatic Glucose Biosensor

Abstract

We have demonstrated an interesting\napproach for the one-pot synthesis of cupric oxide (CuO) nanourchins\nwith sub-100 nm through a sequential dissolution–precipitation\nprocess in a water/ethanol system. The first stage produces a precursory\ncrystal [Cu₇Cl₄(OH)₁₀H₂O] that is transformed into monoclinic CuO nanourchins during the\nfollowing stage. Water is a required reactant for the morphology-controlled\ngrowth of different CuO nanostructures. When evaluated for their nonenzymatic\nglucose-sensing properties, these CuO nanourchins manifest higher\nsensitivity. Significantly, this water-dependent precursor transformation\nmethod may be widely used to effectively control the growth of other\nmetal oxide nanostructures.