Modulating Polyoxovanadate Nanozyme via Interface Engineering for Enhancing Oxidase-Like Activity toward...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Nitrite (NO2-) poses significant environmental and health risks.
• Existing nanozyme detection methods lack sufficient catalytic activity for point-of-care (POC) applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer a CoV2O6/V2O5 hollow cubic nanozyme with enhanced oxidase-like activity for rapid nitrite detection.
• To investigate the role of n-n heterojunction engineering in boosting catalytic performance.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of CoV2O6/V2O5 hollow cubic nanozyme using n-n heterojunction engineering.
• Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations to understand electronic structure and adsorption properties.
• Development of a colorimetric detection platform using the TMB oxidation system.

Main Results:

• The engineered nanozyme exhibited an 11.4-fold increase in catalytic activity compared to pristine CoV2O6.
• A colorimetric detection platform was established with a linear range of 10-100 μM and a limit of detection of 0.43 μM.
• The method demonstrated excellent selectivity against common interfering ions and good reproducibility and recovery rates in real samples.

Conclusions:

• The CoV2O6/V2O5 nanozyme offers a promising platform for sensitive and selective nitrite detection.
• Heterojunction engineering is an effective strategy to enhance nanozyme catalytic activity for POC applications.
• The developed method is suitable for analyzing nitrite levels in food and water samples.