Nanomaterials

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Combinatorial chemistry

Active site

Atom (system on chip)

Catalysis

Embedded system

Chemistry

Materials science

Computer science

Science Advances

Conventional nanozyme technologies face formidable challenges of intricate size-, composition-, and facet-dependent catalysis and inherently low active site density. We discovered a new class of single-atom nanozymes with atomically dispersed enzyme-like active sites in nanomaterials, which significantly enhanced catalytic performance, and uncovered the underlying mechanism. With oxidase catalysis as a model reaction, experimental studies and theoretical calculations revealed that single-atom nanozymes with carbon nanoframe-confined FeN5 active centers (FeN5 SA/CNF) catalytically behaved like the axial ligand-coordinated heme of cytochrome P450. The definite active moieties and crucial synergistic effects endow FeN5 SA/CNF with a clear electron push-effect mechanism, as well as the highest oxidase-like activity among other nanozymes (the rate constant is 70 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C) and versatile antibacterial applications. These suggest that the single-atom nanozymes have great potential to become the next-generation nanozymes.

Single-atom nanozymes