Ligand-mediated asymmetric dicopper sites for robust catecholase-mimicking catalysis and selective sensing.

ABSTRACT: Fabricating dicopper centers in nanozymes offers a promising route to mimic catecholase-like catalysis. However, some dicopper centers often suffer from symmetric configurations, which are prone to weakening the O-O bond polarization, thereby limiting O₂ activation. This results in unsatisfactory intrinsic activities of nanozymes, thus hindering their potential sensing applications. Here, we report a catechol oxidase (CO)-like nanozyme (DTD-Cu) engineered with proximal and asymmetrically coordinated dicopper centers via a N/S-rich ligand. The unique asymmetric N₄Cu-CuN₄S configuration facilitates the preferential O₂ adsorption/activation and O-O bond polarization as well as the subsequent 4-electron reduction to H₂O via a

SUBMITTER: Li B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12512198 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature