Extremes meet: changeover between pro- and antioxidant activities of Cu-based nanozymes†

Abstract

We demonstrate that precise control of the synthetic pH enables the selective synthesis of either pro-oxidant Cu nanoclusters (CuNCs) or antioxidant CuNCs. Notably, modulating the growth temperature of CuNCs can switch their catalytic activity from a pro-oxidant to antioxidant nanozyme. This tunability may make it possible to remotely control the catalytic activities of Cu nanozymes.