Nanostructured MnO2 nanosheets grown on nickel foam: an efficient and readily recyclable 3D artificial oxidase for the colorimetric detection of ascorbic acid

Abstract

The MnO₂-based heterogeneous catalyst has been considered as one of the most efficient catalysts for enzyme-like catalysis, however, it usually suffers from low stability and difficulty in recycling and reuse. Herein, MnO₂ nanosheets supported on nickel foam (NF@MnO₂) have been fabricated, via a facile one-step hydrothermal process, as an artificial oxidase for the detection and quantification of ascorbic acid (AA). NF, as a magnetic support, possesses a three-dimensional (3D) skeleton and excellent conductivity, which greatly facilitate the utilization of active sites, electron transfer, as well as separation from the solution with an external magnet. Owing to this unique architecture and the synergistic effect between NF and MnO₂, the designed NF@MnO₂ composites show enhanced enzyme-like activity toward the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) as compared to NF or MnO₂ alone. By virtue of the reducing ability of ascorbic acid (AA), the AA selectively inhibited this reaction with a detection limit of 0.1 μM. More importantly, this kind of NF-based design can be easily extended to the synthesis of other functional materials for enzyme-like catalytic applications.