D-band center coordination modulated enzyme-like activity in Fe-Cu dual-metal single-atom nanozymes

After explorations in a diversity of single-atom nanozymes(SAzymes),developing dual-centered SAzymes becomes a promising approach for superior catalytic performance.But confusing mechanisms including atomic coordination,spatial configuration,and metal–metal atom interaction hinder the development and design of SAzymes.Herein,a dual-centered Fe-Cu-N_(x)SAzyme exhibits excellent peroxidase(POD)-and catalase(CAT)-like activities with d-band center(ε_(d))coordination of Fe and Cu in multiple reaction stages,which plays a critical role in the adsorption of H_(2)O_(2)molecule and H_(2)O and O_(2)release.Therefore,the dband center coordination,which can be represented byε_(d)(Fe)–ε_(d)(Cu)shifts,leads to the competition between one-side and bilateral adsorption,which determines the favorable reaction path with lower energy barriers.Based on experimental statistics,simulated formation energies,and reaction barriers,3 configurations,Fe-Cu-N6-I,Fe-Cu-N_(8)-II,and Fe-Cu-N_(8)-III,are modeled and validated.Impressively,configuration-dependent catalytic selectivity and the competition between one-side and bilateral adsorption can be unveiled by d-band center coordination paradigm analysis.Theoretical simulations suggest that the unsymmetrical charge distribution over the three Fe-Cu configurations could tune the adsorption strength compared with the counterparts FeN_(4)and CuN_(4).The present work provides a potential route for optimizing enzyme-like catalysis by designing the dual-or even triple-metal SAzymes,which demonstrates the large space to modulate the metal atomic configuration and interaction.