Preparation of 2D Polyaniline/MoO<inf>3−</inf><inf>x</inf> Superlattice Nanosheets via Intercalation-Induced Morphological Transformation for Efficient Chemodynamic Therapy

Abstract

Organic intercalation of layered nanomaterials is an attractive strategy to fabricate organic/inorganic superlattices for a wide range of promising applications. However, the synthesis of 2D organic/inorganic superlattice nanosheets remains a big challenge. Herein, the preparation of 2D polyaniline/MoO3−x (PANI/MoO3−x) superlattice nanosheets via intercalation-induced morphological transformation from MoO3 nanobelts, as efficient Fenton-like reagents for chemodynamic therapy (CDT), is reported. Micrometer-long MoO3 nanobelts are co-intercalated with Na+/H2O followed by the guest exchange with aniline monomer for in situ polymerization to obtain PANI/MoO3−x nanosheets. Intriguingly, the PANI intercalation can induce the morphological transformation from long MoO3 nanobelts to 2D PANI/MoO3−x nanosheets along with the partial reduction of Mo6+ to Mo5+, and generation of rich oxygen vacancies. More importantly, thanks to the PANI intercalation-induced activation, the PANI/MoO3−x nanosheets exhibit excellent Fenton-like catalytic activity for generation of hydroxyl radical (·OH) by decomposing H2O2 compared with the MoO3 nanobelts. It is speculated that the good conductivity of PANI can facilitate electron transport during the Fenton-like reaction, thereby enhancing the efficiency of CDT. Thus, the polyvinylpyrrolidone-modified PANI/MoO3−x nanosheets can function as Fenton-like reagents for highly efficient CDT to kill cancer cells and eradicate tumors.