Bimetallic gold and palladium nanoparticles supported on copper oxide nanorods for enhanced H2O2 catalytic reduction and sensing

Abstract

The emergence of nanoscience and nanotechnology has revitalised research interest in using copper and its derived nanostructures to find exciting and novel applications. In this work, mono- and bimetallic gold and palladium nanoparticles supported on copper oxide nanorods (CuONRs) were prepared and their catalytic performance towards the reduction of H₂O₂ to form reactive oxygen radical species (ROS) was evaluated. The characterisation using microscopy and spectroscopic techniques confirms the successful synthesis of CuONRs, CuONRs@Au₆NPs, CuONRs@Pd₆NPs and CuONRs@Au₃Pd₃NPs. The efficient generation of ROS was confirmed using UV-vis spectroscopy and 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF) as a radical scavenger. The CuONRs possess excellent catalytic reduction activity for H₂O₂ by generating ROS. However, CuONRs also have lattice oxygens which do not participate in the catalytic reduction step. The lattice oxygens however allowed for the adsorption of gold and palladium nanoparticles (Au₆NPs, Pd₆NPs and Au₃Pd₃NPs) and thus enhanced catalytic reduction of H₂O₂ to produce ROS. The produced ROS was subsequently involved in the catalytic oxidation of a chromogenic substrate (TMB), resulting in blue coloured diimine (TMBDI) complex which was monitored using UV-vis and could also be observed using the naked eye. The catalyst dependence on pH, temperature, and H₂O₂ concentration towards efficient ROS generation was investigated. The gold and palladium-supported CuONRs nanocatalysts were evaluated for their potential applications in the fabrication of colorimetric biosensors to detect glucose oxidation by glucose oxidase (GOx). Glucose was used as a model analyte. The enzymatic reaction between GOx and β-d-glucose produces H₂O₂ as a by-product, which is then catalytically converted to ROS by the nanoparticles.