Herein, SnTe nanobelts (NBs) with
efficient oxidase–mimetic
activity were synthesized by the simple electrochemical exfoliation
method. A specific inhibition effect of Cl– on the
enzymatic behavior of the pure SnTe NBs was discovered, which was
accordingly used for establishing a highly feasible, sensitive, selective,
and stable Cl– colorimetric assay. The detection
concentration range was 50 nM to 1 mM, and the lowest detection limit
was 20 nM for Cl–. In addition, a signal on-off-on
route based on the SnTe NB nanozyme was designed to realize the reliable
and specific detection of Hg2+. Therein, the SnTe NBs were
grafted with gold nanoparticles to form a hybrid of SnTe/Au, resulting
in the depression of the oxidase-like activity, which can then be
recovered in the presence of the Hg2+ due to the formation
of a gold amalgam. Especially, it was found that the high concentration
of Cl– over 3 mM could again exert suppression influence
toward the enzymatic activity of the SnTe/Au–Hg system. Based
on the to-love-and-to-kill interaction between Cl– and Hg2+, the detection range for Cl– can be extended to 40 to 250 mM. In return, the assays of Cl– could avoid in advance its interference toward the
accurate Hg2+ assays. We systematically clarified the oxidase-like
catalytic mechanism of the SnTe-derived nanozyme systems. The as-proposed
colorimetry can be successfully applied in practical samples including
the sweat, human serum, or seawater/tap water, relating to cystic
fibrosis, hyper-/hypochloremia, or environmental control, respectively.