Phosphatase-like activity of single-atom CeNC nanozyme for rapid detection of Al³

Single-atom nanozymes are a class of nanozymes with attractive enzyme-like activities. They usually mimic oxidoreductases and lack other types of enzyme-like activities. Hence, we verified a single-atom CeNC (SACeNC) nanozyme with an excellent phosphatase-like (PPA-like) activity, which could catalyze the dephosphorylation of inorganic phosphates. Meanwhile, we found that Al³⁺ could specifically combine with the O atom in its structure to form an Al-O bond, which could inhibit its PPA-like activity. Based on this principle, we have constructed a fast, portable, and efficient fluorescent liquid phase sensor to detect Al³⁺. The detection time was only 4 min, and the limit of detection (LOD) was 22.89 ng/mL in the linear range of 5-25 μg/mL. This study not only verified that single-atom nanozymes mimic phosphatase activities, but also applied its unique enzyme-like to the field of food safety rapid detection.