Remarkable facets for selective monitoring of biomolecules by morphologically tailored CuO nanostructures

Remarkable selective analysis of biomolecules i.e., glucose and ascorbic acid on copper oxide facets was reported for the first time. The copper oxide nanostructures were synthesized using different Cu-ions sources i.e., CuCl2 and CuSO4 by utilizing the hydrothermal method, which congregates in flower and hollow sphere morphologies, respectively. Interestingly, the results showed a comparable sensitivity and selectivity of CuO nanostructures toward glucose and ascorbic acid. To provide a deep understanding of the key factors that predominate the efficiency and selectivity of nanostructured CuO toward these biomolecules, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were accomplished. Five different crystal facets including (002), (200), (202), (111), and (110) were considered and their binding energies with the biomolecules were investigated. It was found that the facets with rich Cu or O atoms might control the selectivity toward glucose and ascorbic acid. This approach will be helpful for designing sensitive and selective targeted nanomaterial-based sensors.