Enzyme-free amperometric sensing of hydrogen peroxide and glucose at a hierarchical Cu2O modified electrode.

In this paper, an enzyme-free amperometric electrochemical sensor was fabricated by casting Nafion-impregnated Cu(2)O particles onto a glassy carbon electrode. A dual dependence of peak current on sweeping rate, which can be attributed for the accumulation of reaction products, was observed on the sensor. Electrochemical analysis of the particulate Cu(2)O for detecting H(2)O(2) and glucose is described, showing remarkable sensitivity in both cases. The estimated detection limits and sensitivities for H(2)O(2) (0.0039 μM, 52.3 mA mM(-1) cm(-2)) and glucose (47.2 μM, 0.19 mA mM(-1) cm(-2)) suggest that the response for H(2)O(2) detection was much higher than for glucose detection. Electron microscopy observation suggested that the hierarchical structures of Cu(2)O resulting from self-assembly of nanocrystals are responsible for the specific electrochemical properties.