In the pursuit of more economical electrocatalysts for non-enzymatic
glucose sensors, one-dimensional Cu nanowires (Cu NWs) with uniform size distribution and a large aspect ratio (>200) were synthesized by a facile, scalable, wet-chemistry approach. The morphology, crystallinity, and surface property of the as-prepared Cu NWs were examined by SEM, XRD, and XPS, respectively. The electrochemical property of Cu NWs for
glucose electrooxidation was thoroughly investigated by cyclic voltammetry. In the amperometric detection of
glucose, the Cu NWs modified glassy
carbon electrode exhibited an extraordinary limit of detection as low
as 35 nM and a wide dynamic range with excellent sensitivity of 420.3 μA cm(-2) mM(-1), which was more than 10,000 times higher than that of the control
electrode without Cu NWs. The performance of the developed
glucose sensor was also independent to
oxygen concentration and free from
chloride poisoning. Furthermore, the interference from
uric acid,
ascorbic acid,
acetaminophen,
fructose, and
sucrose at the level of their physiological concentration were insignificant, indicating excellent selectivity. Finally, good accuracy and high precision for the quantification of
glucose concentration in human serum samples implicate the applicability of Cu NWs in sensitive and selective non-enzymatic
glucose detection.