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. Au 3 Cu 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 Au 3 Cu nanocrystals. Their morphologies can be tuned by the amount of hydrochloric aqueous solution, including nanosquare and frame were achieved, respectively. The as-synthesized Au 3 Cu 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 .