Viral Nanotemplates Armed with Oxygenic Polyoxometalates for Hydrogen Peroxide Detoxification

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly strategies were exploited to decorate wild-type TMV (tobacco mosaic virus) 1D nanoscaffolds with a totally inorganic, multiredox, tetraruthenate complex belonging to the class of polyoxometalate catalysts. The hybrid capsids give rise to an entangled network of fibrils and ribbon-like nanoassemblies, whose functional activity was probed towards H2O2 dismutation in neutral water. Combined solid-state and surface characterization evidence, including Z-potential, electronic microscopy, thermogravimetry and XPS, delineate a favorable tunability of the nanohybrid material as a function of the added cationic binder. A polyoxometalate with oxygenic activity was anchored on the TMV (tobacco mosaic virus). The rod-like biogenic template enables the formation of catalytic nanoarrays for H2O2 dismutation.