Two-step fabrication of nanoporous copper films with tunable morphology for SERS application

peer-reviewedIt is important to design and fabricate nanoporous metals (NPMs) with optimized microstructures for specific applications. In this contribution, nanoporous coppers (NPCs) with controllable thicknesses and pore sizes were fabricated via the combination of a co-sputtering of Cu/Ti with a subsequent dealloying process. The effect of dealloying time on porous morphology and the corresponding surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) behaviors were systematically investigated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) identified the presences of the gaps formed between ligaments and also the nanobumps on the nanoparticle-aggregated ligament surface, which were likely to contribute as the “hot spots” for electromagnetic enhancement. The optimal NPC film exhibited excellent SERS performance towards Rhodamine 6G (R6G) with a low limiting detection (10−9 M), along with good uniformity and reproducibility. The calculated enhancement factor of ca. 4.71 × 107 was over Au substrates and comparable to Ag systems, promising the proposed NPC as a cheap candidate for high-performance SERS substrate

An overview of dealloyed nanoporous gold in bioelectrochemistry

peer-reviewedNanoporous gold (NPG) obtained via dealloying of Au alloys has potential applications in a range of fields, and in particular in bioelectrochemistry. NPG possesses a three dimensional bicontinuous network of interconnected pores with typical pore diameters of ca. 30-40 nm, features that are useful for the immobilisation of enzymes. This review describes the common routes of fabrication and characterization of NPG, the use of NPG as a support for oxidoreductases for applications in biosensors and biofuel cells together with recent progress in the use of NPG electrodes for applications in bioelectrochemistry

One-step fabrication of bio-functionalized nanoporous gold/poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene) hybrid electrodes for amperometric glucose sensing

We report a simple, one-step synthesis of hybrid film by electropolymerizing 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) on nanoporous gold (NPG) for applications in amperometric glucose biosensors. The enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOx), is entrapped into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) matrix, simultaneously. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies show the NPG preserve its original bicontinuous nanoporous structure and the PEDOT film grows uniformly with a thickness of ~10 nm. The modified electrodes have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and single potential step chronoamperometry (SPSC). The influence of PEDOT film's thickness has been explored to optimize sensor behaviors. Mediated by p-benzoquinone (BQ), the calibration curves have been obtained by applying relatively low constant potential of 200 mV (vs. SCE). The NPG/PEDOT/GOx (2CVs) biosensor exhibits high sensitivity of 7.3 μA mM-1 cm-2 and a wide linear range of 0.1-15 mM, making it suitable for reliable analytic applications.</p