Amorphous Ni(OH)2 nanoboxes: fast fabrication and enhanced sensing for glucose.

Inspired by Pearson's hard and soft acid-base (HSAB) principle, uniform amorphous Ni(OH)2 nanoboxes with intact shell structures and various sizes are quickly fabricated by deliberately selecting S2O3(2-) as the coordinating etchant toward Cu2O templates and optimizing the reaction conditions. It is found that not only the solvent system but also the employing of a surfactant is vital for the fabrication of the nanoboxes. Ni(OH)2 nanoboxes, as an example, demonstrate an improved electrochemical sensing ability for glucose, which might be due to their amorphous and hollow structural features.