Versatile Three‐Dimensional Porous Cu@Cu₂O Aerogel Networks as Electrocatalysts and Mimicking Peroxidases

Abstract

A facile strategy is presented to form 3D porous Cu@Cu O aerogel networks by self-assembling Cu@Cu O nanoparticles with the diameters of ca. 40 nm for constructing catalytic interfaces. Unexpectedly, the prepared Cu@Cu O aerogel networks display excellent electrocatalytic activity to glucose oxidation at a low onset potential of ca. 0.25 V. Moreover, the Cu@Cu O aerogels also can act as mimicking-enzymes including horseradish peroxidase and NADH peroxidase, and show obvious enzymatic catalytic activities to the oxidation of dopamine (DA), o-phenyldiamine (OPD), 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), and dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) in the presence of H O . These 3D Cu@Cu O aerogel networks are a new class of porous catalytic materials as mimic peroxidases and electrocatalysts and offer a novel platform to construct catalytic interfaces for promising applications in electrochemical sensors and artificial enzymatic catalytic systems.

In Situ Growth of Ag Nanodots Decorated Cu2O Porous Nanobelts Networks on Copper Foam for Efficient HER Electrocatalysis

“…It is evident that the peak at 530.4 eV originates from lattice oxygen in Cu 2 O, while the peaks locating at 531.3 and 532.2 eV can be attributed to surface absorbed oxygen of the hydroxyl group and the adsorbed H 2 O . Considering that the HER process in alkaline solution begins with a first step of water molecule adsorption and dissociation, the higher content of surface oxygen vacancies can promote the absorption of oxide species, which can decrease the energy to break HO bonds and is beneficial for water dissociation in alkaline media and may greatly have effects on the catalytic activity of Ag@Cu 2 O/CF …”

“…Cu 2 O is a 3d transition metal oxide with intrinsic properties, and moreover, it is earth abundant and nontoxic, which makes it environmentally friendly as an excellent alternative material for different catalytic applications including photocatalytic hydrogen production, electrocatalytic determination, electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction, electrocatalytic OER and ORR . In spite of growing numbers of studies regarding the application and preparation of Cu 2 O, its electrochemical properties as catalysts for the HER have attracted less attention.…”

Versatile Aerogels for Sensors

“…Moreover, through the directional freeze drying, the obtained Ag aerogels show unique anisotropic microporous structure, and great potential in electronic devices . Cu‐based aerogels can be used as an efficient electrochemical catalyst for the CO 2 reduction and biosensing …”

“…In the past few years, intensive studies on application and industrialization of the aerogels sprang up, demonstrating great application potential of aerogels. Among the diverse application fields of aerogels, sensors which are vital in public safety, industry, environment, and health monitoring, have attracted more and more attention, and aerogels have been proved to be one class of excellent materials for the sensors …”

“…Among the components of sensors, sensing materials where the interaction between stimuli and materials mainly takes place, play a critical role to obtain sensors of high performance, such as high sensitivity, good selectivity, and fast response and recovery. When it comes to aerogels as sensing materials in sensors such as gas sensors and biosensors, etc., generally, the highly interconnected porous structure and high specific surface area of aerogels can prevent aggregation of sensing materials, ensure the adequate exposure of active sites, enhance the electron transfer, and supply adequate channels and abundant surface area for the transport and adsorption of analytes, thus endowing the resultant sensors with a fast response rate and high sensitivity . For the strain and pressure sensors, the traditional ones are usually rigid and cannot be further integrated into the wearable devices .…”