Mimicking Horseradish Peroxidase Functions Using Cu-Modified Carbon Nitride Nanoparticles or Cu-Modified Carbon Dots as Heterogeneous Catalysts.

Cu-functionalized carbon nitride nanoparticles (Cu-g-CN NPs), ∼200 nm, and Cu-carbon dots (Cu-C-dots), ∼8 nm, act as horseradish peroxidase-mimicking catalysts. The nanoparticles catalyze the generation of chemiluminescence in the presence of luminol/HO and catalyze the oxidation of dopamine by HO to form aminochrome. The Cu-g-CN-driven generation of chemiluminescence is used to develop a HO sensor and is implemented to develop a glucose detection platform and a sensor for probing glucose oxidase. Also, the Cu-C-dots are functionalized with the β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) receptor units. The concentration of dopamine, at the Cu-C-dots' surface, by means of the β-CD receptor sites, leads to a 4-fold enhancement in the oxidation of dopamine by HO to yield aminochrome compared to that of the unmodified C-dots.