Colorimetric assay of copper ions based on the inhibition of peroxidase-like activity of MoS2 nanosheets

Abstract The peroxidase-like catalytic activity of MoS 2 nanomaterials has been utilized for colorimetric bioassays and medical diagnostics. However, the application of peroxidase-like catalytic activity of MoS 2 nanomaterials in environmental analysis was seldom explored. Herein, copper ions were found to inhibit the peroxidase-like catalytic activity of MoS 2 nanosheets, which can catalyze the oxidation of 3, 3′, 5, 5′-tetramethylbenzidine by H 2 O 2 to produce a colorimetric product. Based on this finding, a simple sensitive colorimetric method for the detection of copper ions was developed. In the presence of copper ions, the absorbance and color of the solution decreased with the increasing concentration of copper ions. The color of the solution can be used to semi-quantitative on-site assay of copper ions by naked eyes. A linear relationship between the absorbance and the concentration of copper ions was observed in the range of 0.4–4.0 μmol L − 1 with a detection limit of 92 nmol L − 1 , which was much lower than the maximum contaminant level of copper in drinking water legislated by the Environmental Protection Agency of USA and the World Health Organization. The method was applied to detect copper ions in environmental water samples with satisfactory results.