A 3-dimensional C/CeO2 hollow nanostructure framework as a peroxidase mimetic, and its application to the colorimetric determination of hydrogen peroxide

Various 3-dimensional C/CeO2 hollow nanostructure frameworks (3D C/CeO2 HNFs) were synthesized by using a polymer blowing process that is accelerated by adding a certain amount of cerium nitrate. Polyvinylpyrrolidone was used as the polymer. The resulting HNFs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The HNFs possess a large specific surface area, and the CeO2 nanocrystals consist of a single phase. The HNFs display intrinsic peroxidase-like activity and can catalyze the oxidation of the peroxidase substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine in the presence of H2O2 to produce a blue product. The method was applied to the quantification of H2O2 with a 5.2 nM detection limit. The analytical range is from 10 nM to 1 μM.