Peroxidase-like activity of FeVO4 nanobelts and its analytical application for optical detection of hydrogen peroxide

In this paper, FeVO4 materials were prepared via a facile hydrothermal method under different pHs and developed as highly efficient biomimetic catalysts for the first time. Different FeVO4 materials with different crystal structures, morphologies and surface properties showed distinct peroxidase-like activities. Experimental results showed that the products obtained at pH = 4 (FeVO4-4) possessed a belt-like nano-structure with a large BET specific surface area and exhibited the best intrinsic peroxidase-like activity compared to other FeVO4 materials. FeVO4-4 nanobelts (NBs) could efficiently catalyze the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 to generate a blue oxide. Based on the highly efficient catalytic activity of FeVO4-4 NBs, a novel system for optical determination of H2O2 was successfully established, and the detection limit of H2O2 could reach 0.2 mu M. FeVO4-4 NBs also exhibited excellent selectivity, reproducibility, long-term stability, and easy recovery property. Furthermore, a peroxidase mimetic mechanism of FeVO4-4 NBs was proposed based on the active species trapping experiments. This work developed a novel, accessible and highly sensitive system for visual detection of H2O2, making FeVO4-4 NBs a potential biomimetic catalysts in H2O2 detection and biomedical analysis. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.