Enhancing colorimetric efficiency: nanozyme-activated peroxymonosulfate for in situ 3-aminophenol detection

A novel colorimetric approach specifically designed to effectively identify the presence of 3-aminophenol (3-AP) in environmental water is introduced. Briefly, a nitrogen-doped carbon-supported cobalt nanozyme (Co@CN-1) was synthesized and utilized to improve the oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of peroxymonosulfate (PMS). Comparative catalytic reactions confirmed that the performance of PMS as an activator exceeds that of hydrogen peroxide catalytically by a factor of 3.5. The catalytic reaction parameters underwent optimization, further resulting in the derivation of a linear detection equation for 3-AP, expressed as inhibition rate (IR%) = 3.35[3-AP]—4.36 (0–20 μM, R² = 0.994) and IR% = 1.43[3-AP] + 31.87 (20–36 μM, R² = 0.992), with the limit of detection (LOD) of 2.84 μM. The linear relationship between 3-AP concentration and the conversion of color to grayscale value (GSV) was established by smartphones, expressed as GSV = 1.28[3-AP] + 147.10 (R² = 0.972). Density functional theory calculations revealed that Co acts as the preferred active site for donating electrons in PMS activation. This work provides a rapid and accurate approach for monitoring 3-AP concentration, enabling real-time analysis and potentially contributing to environmental and ecological studies.