Guided Synthesis of a Mo/Zn Dual Single-Atom Nanozyme with Synergistic Effect and Peroxidase-like Activity

We present a facile route towards a dual single-atom nanozyme composed of Zn and Mo, which utilizes the non-covalent nano-assembly of polyoxometalates, supramolecular coordination complexes as the metal-atom precursor, and a macroscopic amphiphilic aerogel as the supporting substrate. The dual single-atoms of Zn and Mo have a high content (1.5 and 7.3 wt%, respectively) and exhibit a synergistic effect and a peroxidase-like activity. The Zn/Mo site was identified as the main active center by X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation. The detection of versatile analytes, including intracellular H2O2, glucose in serum, cholesterol, and ascorbic acid in commercial beverages was achieved. The nanozyme has an outstanding stability and maintained its performance after one year's storage. This study develops a new peroxidase-like nanozyme and provides a robust synthetic strategy for single-atom catalysts by utilizing an aerogel as a facile substrate that is capable of stabilizing various metal atoms.

Automated summary

This study presents a facile synthetic strategy for a dual single-atom nanozyme composed of zinc (Zn) and molybdenum (Mo). The nanozyme utilizes polyoxometalates and supramolecular coordination complexes as metal-atom precursors, and an amphiphilic aerogel as the supporting substrate. The dual single-atoms of Zn and Mo exhibit a synergistic effect and peroxidase-like activity. The nanozyme shows outstanding stability and is capable of detecting various analytes in different samples.