CuNi Dendritic Material:  Synthesis, Mechanism Discussion, and Application as Glucose Sensor

CuNi dendritic material has been obtained by the electrochemical method. For the synthesis of the material, different potentials were applied to get the dendritic structure in the aqueous solution. The materials were characterized by a series of techniques. The morphology of the material was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy was applied to analyze the elemental composition. X-ray diffraction was used to check the crystal structure of the deposit. The dendritic morphology formation mechanism is discussed from the aspects of thermodynamics and kinetics to give a deep understanding of the crystal growth. For the potential practical application of the material in the fuel cell and biosensor, the electro-oxidation ability of glucose in alkaline solution was tested, and the sensor based on this dendritic alloy was tried.