Single-atom Bi-anchored Au hydrogels with specifically boosted peroxidase-like activity for cascade catalysis and sensing

The complex structure of nanomaterial causes great difficulty in identifying active sites of nanozymes and getting to the bottom of the catalytic mechanism. In this report, single-atom Bi-anchored Au (BiSA@Au) hydrogels were synthesized through a one-step reduction strategy, which enables the precise regulation of the nanozyme activity and specificity at the atomic scale and the in-depth understanding of their catalytic nature. Due to the single-atom Bi doping, the BiSA@Au hydrogels showed previously unachieved peroxidase (POD)-like activity, while the doped single Bi atoms had negligible effects on the enhancements of the other closely related redox enzyme-like activities. Density functional theory verified that the introduction of single Bi atoms not only enhances the adsorption of HO but also decreases the potential barriers for *OOH generation, leading to the boosted POD-like activity. Taking advantage of the unique porous nanowire networks of BiSA@Au hydrogels, a nanozyme/natural enzyme hybrid cascade reaction system was fabricated to achieve the sensitive colorimetric biosensor for glucose. This work paved a new route to rationally design functional nanozymes at the atomic scale, achieving the significant enhancement of POD-like activity with exceptional specificity.