Work

Enhanced Oxidase‐Like Activity of Ag‐Decorated V 2 O 5 Hollow Microspheres for the Colorimetric Detection of Mercury (II) Ions

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT In this work, we report the synthesis of a novel Ag‐decorated V 2 O 5 nanozyme with intrinsic oxidase‐like activity for the colorimetric detection of Hg 2+ ions. The Ag/V 2 O 5 hollow microspheres were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method followed by Ag nanoparticle decoration and thoroughly characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, and EDX. The resulting nanozyme exhibited excellent oxidase‐like catalytic activity, which was further enhanced upon interaction with Hg 2+ , enabling the oxidation of TMB (3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethylbenzidine) without the need for H 2 O 2 . Under optimized conditions, the proposed sensor showed a linear response to Hg 2+ concentrations in the range of 1.25–8.0 μM with a low detection limit of 0.39 μM. Mechanistic studies revealed that reactive oxygen species (superoxide radicals and singlet oxygen) played a dominant role in the oxidation process. The sensor exhibited remarkable selectivity toward Hg 2+ over other common metal ions, along with outstanding stability. These results suggest that Ag/V 2 O 5 nanozymes offer a robust nanozyme platform for the development of simple, sensitive, and stable colorimetric biosensors for the detection of toxic heavy metals in environmental and biological samples.

Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering

DOI: 10.1002/apj.70147

Authors: Zhaoqing Liu, Hengxia Shen, Jiaqi Hu

Institution: Rizhao Polytechnic University

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis

Subfield: Materials Chemistry

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400

Funders: National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province