The zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanozyme has been synthesized using hydrophobic amino acid (AA) to regulate crystal growth. The as-synthesized ZIF-8 reproduces both the structural and functional properties of natural carbonic anhydrase (CA). Structurally, Zn2+/2-methylimidazole coordinated units mimic very well the active center of CA while the hydrophobic microdomains of the adsorbed AA simulate the CA hydrophobic pocket. Functionally, the nanozymes show excellent CA-like esterase activity by giving specific enzyme activity of 0.22 U mg–1 at 25 °C in the case of Val–ZIF-8. More strikingly, such nanozymes are superior to natural CA by having excellent hydrothermal stability, which can give highly enhanced esterase activity with increasing temperature. The specific enzyme activity of Val–ZIF-8 at 80 °C is about 25 times higher than that at 25 °C. In addition, AA–ZIF-8 also shows an excellent catalytic efficiency toward carbon dioxide (CO2) hydration. This study puts forward the important role of hydrophobic microdomains in biomimetic nanozymes for the first time and develops a facile and mild method for the synthesis of nanozymes with controlled morphology and size to achieve excellent catalytic efficiency.

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