From confined growth to enhanced peroxidase-like activity: Nucleation of a phosphate-mediated Fe ^III–Ce ^III–oxo cluster inside the {P ₈W ₄₈} nanoreactor

Abstract

Novel structures of polyoxometalates can be obtained by confining the synthons within specific nanospaces. This capability is what the confined synthetic method excels at. Within the cavity of {P 8 W 48 }, a novel multicomponent cluster comprising cationic Fe III and Ce III heterometals and PO 4 3− oxyanions was successfully nucleated for the first time. Alongside examining the structure and composition of this host-guest assembly, thorough investigations were conducted into the enhanced peroxidase-like activity induced by the Fentonactive metallic species. Preliminary studies on a colorimetric sensor based on [{Fe III 8 Ce III 4 O 2 (OH) 12 (H 2 O) 8 (PO 4 ) 2 }(P 8 W 48 O 184 )] 26− yielded promising results, demonstrating its ability to detect ascorbic acid with high sensitivity and specificity.