CuO nanowires have been prepared and applied for the fabrication of glucose sensors with highly enhanced sensitivity. Cu(OH)₂ nanowires were initially synthesised by a simple and fast procedure, CuO nanowires were then formed simply by removing the water through heat treatment. The structures and morphologies of Cu(OH)₂ and CuO nanowires were characterised by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The direct electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose in alkaline medium at CuO nanowire modified electrodes has been investigated in detail. Compared to a bare Cu electrode, a substantial decrease in the overvoltage of the glucose oxidation was observed at the CuO nanowire electrodes with oxidation starting at ca. 0.10 V vs.Ag/AgCl (saturated KCl). At an applied potential of 0.33 V, CuO nanowire electrodes produce high and reproducible sensitivity to glucose with 0.49 µA/µmol dm^–3. Linear responses were obtained over a concentration range from 0.40 µmol dm^–3 to 2.0 mmol dm^–3 with a detection limit of 49 nmol dm^–3 (S/N = 3). The CuO nanowire modified electrode allows highly sensitive, low working potential, stable, and fast amperometric sensing of glucose, thus is promising for the future development of non-enzymatic glucose sensors.

The OHC shows superior performance as an anode material for LIBs with a high reversible capacity (1181 mA h g ⁻¹ at 0.1 A g ⁻¹ ) and an excellent rate capability (304 mA h g ⁻¹ at 5 A g ⁻¹ ).

In this report, NiCo₂O₄ nanostructures with different morphologies were directly grown on conductive substrates (stainless steel and ITO) by a facile electrodeposition method in addition to a post-annealing process. The morphology changes on different conductive substrates are discussed in detail. The NiCo₂O₄ on stainless steel (SS) had a high surface area (119 m² g⁻¹) and was successfully used in the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol. The electrocatalytic performance was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Impressively, the NiCo₂O₄ showed much higher electrocatalytic activity, lower overpotential and greater stability compared to that of only NiO or Co₃O₄ synthesized by the same method. The higher electrocatalytic activity is due to the high electron conductivity, large surface area of NiCo₂O₄ and the fast ion/electron transport in the electrode and at the electrolyte–electrode interface. This is important for further development of high performance non-platinum electrocatalysts for application in direct methanol fuel cells.

Microwave-assisted synthesized metallic Co ₂ P nanowires show highly-efficient electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions contrasted with the CoP nanowires.