An electrochemical sensor based on FeCo bimetallic single-atom nanozyme for sensitive detection of H2O2

Efficient catalytic decomposition of H2O2 is accompanied by electron transfer through Fe-Nx active sites of hemin in the human body. Inspired by this reaction process, the Fe SAs/Co CNs were successfully synthesized by combined Co atomic sites with nitrogen-carbon doped Fe single-atom active sites (SAs). The synergy between transition metals not only reduces agglomeration during synthesis but also improves its own electrical conductivity due to the interaction between Fe and Co that promotes the formation of graphite surface. Crucially, the synergistic effect of the Co site significantly enhanced the peroxidase activity of the Fe SAs and the reaction rate of the Fenton-like reaction, resulting in an efficient detection of H2O2. Catalytic kinetic calculations and enzymatic kinetic calculations were used to verify the electron transfer rate and catalytic performance of their constructed electrochemical sensing interfaces. The results showed that Fe SAs/Co CNs@GCE showed better detection performance than Fe SAs CNs@GCE. It was applied successfully to detect H2O2 released from cells in real-time as well. The linear detection range of Fe SAs/Co CNs@GCE for H2O2 was 1–16664 μM, and the detection limit was as low as 0.25 μM. Furthermore, an electrochemical sensing chip was constructed using Fe SAs/Co CNs@SPE and the prepared microfluidic channel. The constructed portable FeSAs/Co CNs@SPE had a linear range of 1–400 μM and a detection limit of 0.36 μM and achieved the recovery detection of H2O2 in serum. The electrochemical sensing interfaces constructed based on Fe SAs/Co CNs all have efficient catalytic performance and excellent real-time hydrogen peroxide detection performance, which have practical application potential for human oxidative stress level detection. And it provides a novel approach to the trace detection of bioactive small molecules.