A comprehensive review of nanozyme construction strategies and their applications in environmental analysis

Nanozymes NZs have gained increasing attention in environmental analysis due to their robust performance, cost-effectiveness, and resistance to harsh conditions compared to natural enzymes. Recent developments in nanozyme construction focus not only on enhancing catalytic activity and selectivity but also on adopting greener synthesis approaches such as using plant-based precursors, and low-energy methods in line with the principles of green analytical chemistry GAC. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the types of NZs, including metal-based, carbon-based, and hybrid system with nanomaterials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) based systems, as well as molecularly imprinted polymers MIPs. Additionally, it discusses strategies for hybridizing MIPs with MOFs as a powerful approach to engineer advanced NZs with enhanced selectivity, stability, and catalytic activity. The review also covers key aspects of nanozyme development, including the catalytic mechanisms, detection modes, synthetic methods, and green synthesis approaches. The environmental applications of these systems, including pollutant detection and heavy metal ion sensing, are discussed in detail. Finally, current limitations, challenges, and perspectives for the future development of green NZs in real-world environmental monitoring are addressed.