Spontaneous interfacial reaction between metallic copper and PBS to form cupric phosphate nanoflower and its enzyme hybrid with enhanced activity

•Copper was found to be corroded quickly by mild 0.01 M PBS.•Free-standing Cu3(PO4)2 nanoflower was spontaneously formed.•Protein-Cu3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflower was further synthesized.•The underlying chemistry was thoroughly investigated.

We herein report the spontaneous interfacial reaction between copper foil with 0.01 M phosphate buffered saline (PBS) to form free-standing cupric phosphate (Cu3(PO4)2) nanoflowers at ambient temperature. The underlying chemistry was thoroughly investigated and it is found that the formation of nanoflower is synergistically caused by dissolved oxygen, chlorine ions and phosphate ions. Enzyme-Cu3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflower was further prepared successfully by using an enzyme-dissolving PBS solution and the enzymes in the hybrid exhibit enhanced biological activity. This work provides a facile route for large-scale synthesis of hierarchical inorganic and functional protein-inorganic hybrid architectures via a simple one-step solution-immersion reaction without using either template or surfactant, thus offering great potential for biosensing application among others.

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