The catalytic activity of Ag2S-montmorillonites as peroxidase mimetic toward colorimetric detection of H2O2.

Nanocomposites based on silver sulfide (Ag2S) and Ca-montmorillonite (Ca(2+)-MMT) were synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. The nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR). The as-prepared Ag2S-MMT nanocomposites were firstly demonstrated to possess intrinsic peroxidase-like activity and could rapidly catalytically oxidize the substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 to produce a blue product which can be seen by the naked eye in only one minute. The experimental results revealed that the Ag2S-MMT nanocomposites exhibit higher thermal durance. Based on the TMB-H2O2 catalyzed color reaction, the Ag2S-MMT nanocomposites were exploited as a new type of biosensor for detection and estimation of H2O2 through a simple, cheap and selective colorimetric method.