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Graphical abstract Abstract Electrochemical property and detection performance of nanocatalysts are largely affected by the component and morphology. Here, an advanced class of PtCu nanocrystal with uniform trifurcate structure has been synthesized by using KI as the structure-directing agent during the reduction process. Due to the large surface area of such synthesized dendritic trifurcate nanocrystal and the synergistic effect between Pt and Cu, this nanocatalyst performed nicely when applied it to the electrochemical detection of caffeic acid. Specifically, the detection limit is 0.35 μM (S/N = 3) and the linear range is wide from 1.2 μM-1.9 mM. The finding may be beneficial for developing novel and high-performance sensors for the monitoring of dietetical and environmental safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a facile electrochemical approach for synthesizing the Pd nano-leaves supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The as-synthesized Pd nano-leaves/RGO/GCE catalyst has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). SEM images show that a large number of Pd nano-leaves are uniformly deposited on the surface of RGO. Electrochemical measurements indicate that the as-synthesized Pd nano-leaves/RGO/GCE catalyst displays higher electrocatalytic activity and stronger poisoning-tolerance towards formic acid oxidation reaction as compared to the Pd nano-leaves/GCE and commercial Pd/C/GCE catalysts. This work explores a novel approach for the formation of nano-leaves structure, which can provide its important application in fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]