Photothermal-Amplified Single Atom Nanozyme for Biofouling Control in Seawater

Biofouling is a common and expensive problem in medical, food, and maritime industries. Artificial nanozymes as functional mimics of haloperoxidases that boost the formation of cytotoxic hypohalous acids from halides and H2O2 are showing increasing potential as a novel class of ecofriendly antibiofouling materials to combat biofilm formation. A photothermal nanozyme (Mo SA-N/C) with Mo single atoms as active sites that exhibits haloperoxidase-mimicking capacity is herein developed. Density functional theory calculations indicate that hydroxyl radical from H2O2 dissociation is the key intermediate for hypobromous acid formation. Upon photoirradiation, Mo SA-N/C generates heat and accelerates the reaction kinetics substantially. Finally, it is demonstrated that Mo SA-N/C exerts superior broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and can be applied as an effective coating additive for inhibiting biofouling in real marine conditions. Taken together, this study opens an avenue for developing biocompatible and photo-response artificial enzymes for our fight against marine biofouling.

Automated summary

This study introduces a photothermal nanozyme with haloperoxidase-like activity, which generates heat to greatly accelerate the reaction kinetics. It exhibits superior antibacterial activity and can be used for biofouling prevention in real marine conditions.