Ultrasmall Au nanoparticles modified 2D metalloporphyrinic metal-organic framework nanosheets with high peroxidase-like activity for colorimetric detection of organophosphorus pesticides

Ultrasmall Au nanoparticles (UsAuNPs) in the size range of 4.0–7.0 nm was successfully immobilized on the surface of 2D metalloporphyrinic metal–organic framework nanosheets (2D MOF). Firstly, The obtained hybrid nanomaterial, UsAuNPs/2D MOF, was fully characterized by TEM, HRTEM, element mapping images and XPS. Then, the peroxidase-like activity of UsAuNPs/2D MOF was comparatively studied with other hybrid nanozyme to explore the influence of AuNPs size on peroxidase-like activity. Further, UsAuNPs/2D MOF with outstanding peroxidase-like activity was selected to form ternary cascade enzyme reaction with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and choline oxidase (ChOx). Based on the inhibitory effect of organophosphorus pesticides on AChE, a fast and sensitive colorimetric method was established for trichlorfon detection with the advantages of simple operation, low detection limit (1.7 μM), good linear range (1.7–42.4 μM) and high accuracy (recovery rate of 96.6–105.3%). Finally, this method was applied to visual analysis of trichlorfon concentration in tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants.