Formaldehyde
(HCHO) pollution is a scientific problem of general
concern and has aroused wide attention. In this work, a fluorometric
method for sensitive detection of formaldehyde was developed based
on the oxidase-mimicking activity of MnO2 nanosheets in
the presence of o-phenylenediamine (OPD). The MnO2 nanosheets were prepared by the bottom-up approach using
manganese salt as the precursor, followed by the exfoliation with
bovine serum albumin. The as-prepared MnO2 nanosheets displayed
excellent oxidase-mimicking activity, and can be used as the nanoplatform
for sensing in fluorometric analysis. OPD was used as a typical substrate
because MnO2 nanosheets can catalyze the oxidation of OPD
to generate yellow 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP), which can emit bright
yellow fluorescence at the wavelength of 560 nm. While in the presence
of formaldehyde, the fluorescence was greatly quenched because formaldehyde
can react with OPD to form Schiff bases that decreased the oxidation
reaction of OPD to DAP. The main mechanism and the selectivity of
the platform were studied. As a result, formaldehyde can be sensitively
detected in a wide linear range of 0.8–100 μM with the
detection limit as low as 6.2 × 10–8 M. The
platform can be used for the detection of formaldehyde in air, beer,
and various food samples with good performance. This work not only
expands the application of MnO2 nanosheets in fluorescence
sensing, but also provides a sensitive and selective method for the
detection of formaldehyde in various samples via a new mechanism.