Construction of Uniform Nanopores in CuO Microplates for Enhanced Electrochemical Glucose Sensing

Manufacturing mesopores in electrocatalysts is crucial to advancing electrochemical glucose sensing, with important implications for the food industry and public health. However, facile creation of uniform mesoporous materials remains challenging, and there is limited research on the impact of pore structures on mass transfer, adsorption, and final performance. In this work, Cu(OH)2 microplates with ordered nanowire assemblies were grown on stone paper (SP) by copper nitrate hydrolysis and KOH etching, and then, we synthesized mesoporous CuO microplates (primary pore size: 13.48 nm) by utilizing the uniform shrinkage of ordered Cu(OH)2 nanowire assemblies after annealing. The uniform nanopores in CuO deliver excellent sensing performance, achieving a high sensitivity of 1499.2 μA mM–1 cm–2 in a linear range of 0.0030–1.8501 mM, along with satisfactory selectivity, stability, and reproducibility. Electrochemical analysis elucidates that larger pore sizes, sufficient pores, and uniform pore distribution in microporous CuO contribute to the timely glucose diffusion and adsorption. Furthermore, the remarkable feasibility of the proposed sensor was confirmed in beverages and human sera, suggesting its practical applicability in the development of advanced electrochemical sensors.