Nanoporous platinum-copper flowers for non-enzymatic sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide and glucose at near-neutral pH values.

Multimodal nanoporous PtCu flowers (np-PtCu) were prepared via a two-step dealloying strategy under mild conditions. The np-PtCu alloy possesses an interconnected flower-like network skeleton with multiscale pore distribution. This material was placed on a glassy carbon electrode where it shows outstanding detection performance towards hydrogen peroxide and glucose in near-neutral pH solutions. It can be attributed to the specific structure in terms of interconnected nanoscaled ligaments, rich pore openings and a synergistic alloying effect. Figures of merit for detection H2O2 assay include (a) a working voltage of 0.7 V (vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode); (b) a wide linear response range (from 0.01 to 1.7 mM), and (c) a low detection limit (0.1 μM). The respective data for the glucose assay are (a) 0.4 V, (b) 0.01-2.0 mM, and (c) 0.1 μM. The method is not interfered in the presence of common concentrations of dopamine, acetaminophen and ascorbic acid. Graphical abstract Multimodal nanoporous (np) PtCu alloy was prepared via a two-step dealloying strategy under mild conditions. Np-PtCu exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity. The assay is highly sensitive, selective, and it allows for a long-term detection of H2O2 and glucose.