Nanoparticle-aggregated CuO nanoellipsoids for high-performance non-enzymatic glucose detection

We have demonstrated a facile anion-assisted strategy for the synthesis of nanoparticle-aggregated CuO nanoellipsoids. Structural and morphological evolutions were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The nanoparticle-aggregated CuO nanoellipsoids serve as a promising electrode material for a non-enzymatic glucose biosensor which shows high sensitivity, good reproducibility, a fast amperometric response and good selectivity. The study is of great importance in the bottom-up assembly of tunable ordered architectures, and offers a chance to understand the formation mechanism and fundamental significance of an anion-assisted strategy for the synthesis of metal oxides. Significantly, it is believed that the anion-assisted synthetic approach reported here could provide a facile way to design more novel metal oxide architectures with well-defined shapes.