Uniformly embedded PtCu alloy nanoparticles on mesoporous carbon nanospheres: a high-efficiency nanozyme for glucose detection

The construction of nanozyme-based electrochemical sensor with excellent analytical properties is urgently needed for non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing of glucose. In this work, we embed PtCu alloy nanoparticles on mesoporous carbon nanospheres (PtCu/MCNs) as nanozyme by strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) method combined with high-temperature reduction for glucose detection. Characterization results show that PtCu alloy nanoparticles with average diameter of 3.7 nm are homogeneously embedded on MCNs. The formation mechanism of PtCu/MCNs was put forward based on strong electrostatic interaction. PtCu/MCNs(1:1) shows the highest electrocatalytic activity for glucose oxidation compared with other PtCu/MCNs. PtCu/MCNs(1:1)-based sensor displays low detection limit (0.0005 μM), high sensitivity (574.1 μA mM −1  cm −2 ), wide linear range (1 μM–5 mM), high selectivity and anti-interference for glucose analysis. Moreover, the as-constructed sensor has excellent reusability and stability. The above superior properties could be attributed to the homodisperse and firm combination with MCNs of small PtCu alloy nanoparticles, and the cooperative effect of Pt with Cu. The PtCu/MCNs(1:1)-based sensor exhibits satisfactory properties for the detection of glucose in beverages, indicating the application prospects of PtCu/MCNs for glucose determination in real samples. Graphical abstract