CuO nanoparticles (NPs) based graphene oxide (CuO/GO) composites with different CuO NPs loading amount as well as pure CuO NPs with different hydrothermal temperatures were synthesized using a hydrothermal method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Raman spectroscopy were employed to characterize the morphology and structures of our samples. The influence of hydrothermal temperature, GO sheet, and loading amount of CuO on particle size and structure of CuO was systemically investigated. The nonenzymatic biosensing properties of CuO/GO composites and CuO NPs toward glucose were studied based on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The sensing properties of CuO NPs were improved after loading on GO sheets. The CuO/GO composites with saturated loading of the CuO NPs exhibited the best nonenzymatic biosensing behavior. It exhibited a sensitivity of 262.52 μA mM(-1) cm(-2) to glucose with a 0.69 μM detection limit (S/N = 3) and a linear range from 2.79 μM to 2.03 mM under a working potential of +0.7 V. It also showed outstanding long term stability, good reproducibility, excellent selectivity, and accurate measurement in real serum sample. It is believed that CuO/GO composites show good promise for further application on nonenzymatic glucose biosensors.

Three-dimensional (3D) porous ZnO–CuO hierarchical nanocomposites (HNCs) nonenzymatic glucose electrodes with different thicknesses were fabricated by coelectrospinning and compared with 3D mixed ZnO/CuO nanowires (NWs) and pure CuO NWs electrodes. The structural characterization revealed that the ZnO–CuO HNCs were composed of the ZnO and CuO mixed NWs trunk (~200 nm), whose outer surface was attached with small CuO nanoparticles (NPs). Moreover, a good synergetic effect between CuO and ZnO was confirmed. The nonenzymatic biosensing properties of as prepared 3D porous electrodes based on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) were studied and the results indicated that the sensing properties of 3D porous ZnO–CuO HNCs electrodes were significantly improved and depended strongly on the thickness of the HNCs. At an applied potential of + 0.7 V, the optimum ZnO–CuO HNCs electrode presented a high sensitivity of 3066.4 μAmM−1cm−2, the linear range up to 1.6 mM, and low practical detection limit of 0.21 μM. It also showed outstanding long term stability, good reproducibility, excellent selectivity and accurate measurement in real serum sample. The formation of special hierarchical heterojunction and the well-constructed 3D structure were the main reasons for the enhanced nonenzymatic biosensing behavior.

A series of In2O3/Au nanorods (NRs) were fabricated and characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X–ray diffractometer (XRD) and X–ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The length to diameter ratios of In2O3/Au NRs was periodically modulated in the range of 2.9–4.5 through controlling the initial content of indium salt and reaction time. Their gas sensing properties to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were carefully studied and then applied in exhaled breath detection. The results demonstrate that In2O3/Au NRs gas sensor can effectively detect acetone at 250 °C and ethanol at 400 °C. The corresponding actual detection limit is as low as 0.1 ppm to acetone and 0.05 ppm to ethanol, respectively. Moreover, by using humidity compensation method, In2O3/Au NRs gas sensor can clearly distinguish the acetone and ethanol biomarkers in human breath. The main reason of the enhanced gas sensing properties was attributed to the “spillover effects” between Au and In2O3 NRs. The excellent sensing performance indicates that In2O3/Au NRs is a promising functional material to actual application in monitoring and detecting diabetes and safe driving area in a noninvasive and more accurate way.