Synthesis of Ag–Cu alloy nanosheets for ascorbic acid detection

Abstract

Metal alloy nanosheets play a very important role as catalysts, which also show obvious advantages in the field of biosensor. Compared with traditional methods, such as enzyme method, gas chromatography or optical absorbance, the detection of ascorbic acid is simpler and more stable by spectroscopy. Ag–Cu alloy nanosheets with a thickness of about 1–3 nm and an average lateral size of 3–5 nm were synthesized in this study by the soft template method. These nanosheets were used to construct a sensor for measuring the concentration of ascorbic acid. The initial UV-Vis absorption peaks for the Ag–Cu alloy nanosheets in aqueous solution were effectively quenched upon addition of ascorbic acid. As the ascorbic acid concentration was in the range of 5–250 mmol/L changes, the UV absorbance intensity for the sensor also changed. Because of its wide detection range, high sensitivity, and excellent stability, the Ag–Cu alloy sensor method may be an excellent alternative to the traditional ascorbic acid measure method.