Fe–N4@Graphene Single-Atom Catalyst-Based Nanozyme against Influenza A Virus

Recent COVID-19 pandemic has raised an urgent need for effective strategies to combat viruses that can pose serious health threats to the entire human race. Incorporating antipathogenic functions into everyday objects and personal protective equipment has become increasingly important, motivating the development of general-purpose antiviral materials. Single-atom catalysts, known for superior catalytic performance and maximized atomic utilization, have been explored in various research fields, including artificial nanozymes for bioapplications. We present reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-supported Fe–N4 single-atom catalyst-based nanozyme (Fe–N-rGO) capable of achieving 99.99% viral deactivation against influenza A virus, outperforming bulk and nanoscale counterparts. The antiviral mechanism is attributed to the strong adsorption of hemagglutinin on the viral surface, leading to protein denaturation along with the potential generation of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, Fe–N-rGO with 1 wt %Fe can be uniformly coated onto arbitrary substrates, well-maintaining the strong antiviral performance.