Lewis-acidic Zr single-atom nanozyme with room-temperature glycosidase-like activity for cellulosic biomass degradation

Key Points

• The goal is to develop a zirconium-based catalyst that mimics glycosidases for biomass hydrolysis.
• Creation of a zirconium single-atom-anchored nitrogen-doped carbon nanocatalyst.
• Tests conducted on the hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl-β-Dglucopyranoside under ambient conditions.
• Analysis using density functional theory (DFT) to understand coordination and reaction pathways.
• The Zr-NC nanocatalyst showed efficient hydrolysis of the substrate at room temperature.
• DFT calculations supported the mechanism of glycosidase-like activity in the catalyst.