Atomically Site Synergistic Effects of Dual-Atom Nanozyme Enhances Peroxidase-like Properties
Ruijin Zeng, Yanli Li, Xuehan Hu, Weijun Wang, Yuxuan Li, Hexiang Gong, Jianhui Xu, Lingting Huang, Liling Lu, Yongfan Zhang, Dianping Tang, Jibin Song
Abstract
Pursuing effective and generalized strategies for modulating the electronic structures of atomically dispersed nanozymes with remarkable catalytic performance is exceptionally attractive yet challenging. Herein, we developed a facile “formamide condensation and carbonization” strategy to fabricate a library of single-atom (M 1 -NC; 6 types) and dual-atom (M 1 /M 2 -NC; 13 types) metal-nitrogen-carbon nanozymes (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, Ru, Cu) to reveal peroxidase- (POD-) like activities. The Fe 1 Co 1 -NC dual-atom nanozyme with Fe 1 -N 4 /Co 1 -N 4 coordination displayed the highest POD-like activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the Co atom site synergistically affects the d-band center position of the Fe atom site and served as the second reaction center, which contributes to better POD-like activity. Finally, Fe 1 Co 1 NC was shown to be effective in inhibiting tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that diatomic synergy is an effective strategy for developing artificial nanozymes as novel nanocatalytic therapeutics.