Ultra-small dispersed Cu O nanoparticles on graphene fibers for miniaturized electrochemical sensor applications.

A graphene microfiber (GF) modified with ultrafine Cu O nanoparticles (Cu ONPs/GF) has been fabricated by direct annealing of electrodeposited nano-sized copper-based metal organic frameworks (HKUST-1) and used as an electrode for nonenzymatic HO sensing. Benefiting from the unique microfiber architecture and synergetic effects, as well as strong coupling between components with many active sites and boosted electron transport, the Cu ONPs/GF electrode shows prominent sensitivity, selectivity and long-term operational stability for the detection of HO. Further work successfully applied this Cu ONPs/GF electrode to detection of HO in real samples such as milk and human serum. These results indicate that the Cu ONPs/GF is a promising mini-sized sensor in electrochemical analysis.