Intrinsic Electric Field Research Articles

GaSe/YAlS3: A type-II van der Waals heterostructure with ultrahigh solar-to-hydrogen efficiency for photocatalytic water splitting

Photocatalytic water splitting, a process aimed at hydrogen production, is considered a pivotal clean energy sources to achieve environmental friendliness and high energy efficiency in the future. The crux of achieving this objective lies in the design of stable and efficient catalysts. Herein, we proposed a novel type-II band alignment GaSe/YAlS3 van der Waals heterostructure with robust stability for photocatalytic water splitting. The intrinsic electric field of YAlS3 monolayer can break the requirement of band gap (>1.23 eV) in traditional photocatalytic water splitting theory and significantly enhancing the utilization of solar energy. Encouragingly, compared to individual monolayers GaSe or YAlS3, the optical absorption coefficients of the GaSe/YAlS3 heterostructure are significantly improved and the corrected solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency is improved by 406% and 132%, respectively, reaching an impressive 29.73% efficiency. Furthermore, the heterostructure demonstrates exceptional overall water splitting performance across a broad pH range and maintains a consistently high STH efficiency (25.41%∼34.71%) under a wide range biaxial strain (−6%–5%). In addition, the designed GaSe/YAlS3 heterostructure showcases enhanced absorption of visible as well as partial absorption of infrared light for photocatalytic water splitting. These compelling findings unequivocally establish GaSe/YAlS3 heterostructure as an excellent and promising candidate for photocatalytic water splitting.

Selective cascade activation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human cells: Role of enzyme's intrinsic electric field

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major environmental organic pollutants. Some metabolites of PAHs show greater toxicity to humans while the others do not. It is highly important to decipher PAHs' regioselective activation mechanism and identify the major metabolites to accurately evaluate their public health risk. Here, we have performed a thorough computational study of benzo[a]anthracene (BA) metabolized by P450 1A1 by employing molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, quantum chemical calculation, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics calculations. Our findings show that highly-reactive species such as 3,4-epoxide, 8,9-epoxide, 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide, and 8,9-diol-10,11-epoxide were major metabolites, which can efficiently react with guanine and damage DNA with extremely low energy barrier, therefore, supports the regioselective metabolism of BA. The origin of this selective activation is mainly contributed to both the oxygen‑carbon distance and previously overlooked enzyme's intrinsic electric field. Consequently, based on the resolved activation selectivity of BA. We built a high-throughput strategy to efficiently predict the metabolites of other PAHs. The accuracy of the strategy is validated by studying 16 PAHs on the priority control list. Hopefully this will aid the accurate evaluation of public health risks associated with PAH emissions.

Spontaneous hydrogen production on well-designed two-dimensional MoSi2N2P2 Janus structure: N-face versus P-face tuning

Based on the recently discovered two-dimensional non-Janus MoSi2N4 structure, we here study a well-designed two-dimensional Janus structure (MoSi2N2P2) for potential application in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) via water splitting. We first confirm the stability of the MoSi2N2P2 structure using first-principles’ calculations in the framework of density functional theory by calculating cohesive energy, phonon dispersion, and ab-initio molecular dynamics evolution. We then investigate electronic and transport properties of the structure. The MoSi2N2P2 Janus structure exhibits an indirect (Γ→M) band gap of only 0.22 eV using PBE and 0.89 eV using the HSE06 hybrid functional. We also find that there is a large intrinsic electric field across the Janus structure, which tends to gather electrons at the P face. We also calculate the mobility of the Janus structure, showing that it has a high electron mobility (409 cm2/Vs) along the zigzag direction. We then show that compared with the P face, the N face gives a lower overpotential against HER, but not sufficient to activate HER process. Therefore, we investigate how the electronic properties and the HER overpotential of the Janus MoSi2N2P2 monolayer are affected by applying biaxial strain and external perpendicular electric field. Thus, the N face exhibits a higher degree of tunability than the P face toward HER overpotential. In particular by applying an electric field of 2.7 V/Å directing from the P face to the N face, the overpotential against the HER reaction on the N face can be adjusted to zero, showing that the well-designed Janus structure can exhibit a potential application for spontaneous HER water splitting.

Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction of Cr2O2ClI Janus Monolayer: A First‐Principles Calculation

The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interactions (DMIs) of Cr2O2ClI Janus monolayer are investigated using the first‐principles calculations. There are three DMI mechanisms (namely, the Half–Fert–Levy mechanism, the Fert–Levy mechanism, and the Rashba mechanism) in Cr2O2ClI Janus monolayer. The Half–Fert–Levy mechanism, by which the I atoms enhance the spin orbit coupling interaction on the type‐I Cr atoms but have no such effect on the type‐II Cr atoms, contributes to the y‐component of the DMI vector between two nearest‐neighbor Cr atoms. Originating from the strong spin orbit coupling interaction of the I atoms, the Fert–Levy mechanism results in a significant DMI vector via the Cr–I–Cr exchange path between two type‐I next‐nearest‐neighbor Cr atoms. Induced by the intrinsic electric field of the Janus structure, the Rashba mechanism results in nonzero in‐plane components of the DMI vectors. This work provides the first‐principles calculations of the DMIs of Cr2O2ClI Janus monolayer and reveals insight into the physics behind the calculated DMIs, which promote the understanding of the complicated DMIs due to multiple mechanisms in 2D magnetic Janus monolayers.

Hexagonal Janus Zn2XY (X=S, Se; Y[dbnd]Se, Te; X≠Y) monolayers: A high-performance photocatalyst for water splitting

Efficient photocatalytic water splitting is of holds paramount importance in addressing contemporary energy and environmental challenges. The emergence of symmetry-deficient Janus two-dimensional materials has opened new avenues for advancing the field of photocatalytic hydrogen production. Using first-principles calculations, we investigated a novel Janus Zn2XY (X = S, Se; YSe, Te; X≠Y) monolayer. The results demonstrate exceptional structural stability and favorable characteristics for water splitting, including direct band gaps and optimal band edge alignment. Spatially separating band edge states and the intrinsic vertical electric field effectively suppress the recombination rate of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Strain engineering enhances the monolayer's capacity for visible light absorption. Furthermore, All Janus monolayers exhibit an impressive electron mobility of 103 cm2/V/s, with Janus Zn2STe and Zn2SeTe monolayers reaching 16.28% and 16.34% Solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiencies, respectively. These findings showcase the superior performance of Janus Zn2XY in water splitting and guide future experimental endeavors.

Unveiling the synergistic interplay of appropriate oxygen vacancies and S-scheme heterojunction structures in OVs-TiO2/g-C3N4 catalyst for efficient RhB photodegradation and H2 production

This study presents a facile synthesis for an efficient S-scheme OVs-TiO2/g-C3N4 heterojunction (OVs-TCN) enriched with oxygen vacancies, demonstrating exceptional performance in photocatalytic RhB degradation and H2 production. Controlled introduction of g-C3N4 into OVs-TiO2 modulates appropriate oxygen vacancies within the OVs-TCN10 heterojunction. Under visible irradiation, OVs-TCN10 achieves a remarkable 97.2 % degradation of RhB over 120 min with 5 cycles, with an apparent rate constant of 0.021 min−1. Impressively, OVs-TCN10 exhibits significant H2 production from RhB degradation, reaching a rate of 150 µmol h−1 under visible irradiation for 30 h, with a 15 % AQY at 420 nm. Experimental and DFT analyses of charge density difference, along with Mulliken analysis at the OVs-TiO2/g-C3N4 interface, confirm the existence of an intrinsic electric field flowing from g-C3N4 to OVs-TiO2. This internal electric field enhances photogenerated electron-hole separation and transfer, facilitating the redox process via the S-scheme mechanism in the heterojunction for photocatalytic RhB degradation and H2 production. This work offers new insights into the controlled defects and interfacial mechanisms in heterojunctions, propelling advanced photocatalytic applications.

Two-dimensional ferroelectric heterostructures for overall water-splitting from DFT aspects

Currently, the construction of direct Z-type heterojunctions is an effective way to improve the overall water splitting catalytic efficiency of existing two-dimensional(2D) materials, which can simultaneously combine spatial separation of active sites and enhanced redox ability. In particular, when the internal structure of heterojunction was polarized, the polarization can effectively tune electronic properties and remove band gap (1.23 eV) limitation on water splitting. So far, the effect of polarization on water-splitting reactivity in heterojunctions based on the 2D layered polarized In2Y3 (Y = S, Se) and the nonpolarized 2D β-Sb monolayer is unclear. Therefore, we constructed a series of such heterojunctions and made theoretical predictions of overall water splitting performance by first-principles calculations. The predictions shown that As/In2Se3(up), Sb/In2Se3(down) and Sb/In2S3(down) are potential photocatalysts with direct Z-scheme band positions, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) will occur on different surfaces of system. It is found that the intrinsic polarization electric field of In2Y3 (Y = S, Se) monolayer effectively enhances photogenerated carrier driving force of reaction. Notably, the promising photocatalysts have a high solar-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of 17.71 %, which has potential commercial applications. Also, Bi/In2S3up (S) and As/In2Te3up (As) exhibit desirable electrocatalytic HER performance. These insights provide an important strategy for application of ferroelectric heterojunctions in water splitting.

Rational design of SiC/SnSSe heterostructure for efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications

The search for highly efficient and eco-friendly photocatalysts and photovoltaic solar cells is now in progress, however, it still remains challenging. By first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that Janus SiC/SnSSe van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) with a typical type-II band alignment possess great potential in photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications. An intrinsic electric field induced by the Janus feature of SnSSe alongside an interfacial built-in electric field caused by charge transfer from SiC to SnSSe monolayer significantly fosters spatial separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs in two layers. Since the reduced bandgap of the vdWHs promotes an enhancement of optical absorption in the visible and even infrared regions in comparison with that of their constituting monolayers, the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency reaches as high as 41.5 %, making it a highly efficient photocatalyst. The high photoresponsivity in the visible region endows the proposed system with a powerful potential for photovoltaic applications. Besides, we also find that the optical absorption and photocurrent can be effectively tuned by applying biaxial strains. For instance, the latter increases to 31 % at 4 % tensile strain. These findings provide new prospects for designing direct Z-scheme photocatalysts and photovoltaic devices based on vdWHs.

Differences in Conformational Sampling and Intrinsic Electric Fields Drive Ion Binding in Telomeric and TERRA G-Quadruplexes.

The formation of G-quadruplexes (GQs) occurs in guanine-rich sequences of DNA and RNA, producing highly stable and structurally diverse noncanonical nucleic acid structures. GQs play crucial roles in regulating transcription, translation, and replication and maintaining the genome, among others; thus, changes to their structures can lead to diseases such as cancer. Previous studies using polarizable molecular dynamics simulations have shown differences in ion binding properties between telomeric and telomeric repeat-containing RNA GQs despite architectural similarities. Here, we used volume-based metadynamics and repulsive potential simulations in conjunction with polarizable force fields to quantify the impact of ion binding on the GQ dynamics and ion binding free energies. Furthermore, we describe how GQs exert electric fields on their surroundings to link dynamics with variations in the electronic structure. Our findings provide new insights into the energetic, physical, and conformational properties of GQs and expose subtle but important differences between DNA and RNA GQs with the same fold.

Phase transition guided V2O5/β-Bi2O3 Z-scheme heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic Hg0 oxidation

The incorporation of vanadium during the synthesis process induced a spontaneous and complete thermal phase transition from α-Bi2O3 to β-Bi2O3. This phase transition facilitated the development of intrinsic electric field at the interface between V2O5 and β-Bi2O3, consequently establishing a novel carrier transfer pathway. As a result, the fabricated V2O5/β-Bi2O3 heterojunction exhibited an outstanding removal efficiency of over 98 % for gaseous mercury (Hg0) under UV light, and this efficiency of 95.0 % even after 35 h of testing. Introducing vanadium enhanced the light absorption capacity in the ultraviolet region and effectively separated photoinduced charge carriers. As revealed by density functional theory calculations, the photoinduced electron–hole transfer in the V2O5/β-Bi2O3 heterojunction followed the Z-scheme mechanism. This mechanism significantly contributed to the long-term stability of photocatalytic Hg0 removal, even when H2O and NO were present. This study presents a novel material composited by a thermal phase transition technique, aimed at the highly effective and green removal of Hg0 in the environment.

Spontaneous Iodide Activation at the Air-Water Interface of Aqueous Droplets.

We present experimental evidence that atomic and molecular iodine, I and I2, are produced spontaneously in the dark at the air-water interface of iodide-containing droplets without any added catalysts, oxidants, or irradiation. Specifically, we observe I3- formation within droplets, and I2 emission into the gas phase from NaI-containing droplets over a range of droplet sizes. The formation of both products is enhanced in the presence of electron scavengers, either in the gas phase or in solution, and it clearly follows a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism, suggesting an interfacial process. These observations are consistent with iodide oxidation at the interface, possibly initiated by the strong intrinsic electric field present there, followed by well-known solution-phase reactions of the iodine atom. This interfacial chemistry could be important in many contexts, including atmospheric aerosols.

Interface engineering of hollow CsPbBr3/Co3O4 p-n heterojunction with rich oxygen vacancy for highly enhanced photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Surface defect or p-n heterojunction is considered as an efficient strategy to fabricate intrinsic built-in electric field and facilitate the charge separation and transfer. Herein, a novel p-n heterojunction photocatalyst CsPbBr3/Co3O4 was constructed by a facile microwave-assisted method, in which CsPbBr3 QDs anchored on ZIF-67 derived Co3O4 nanocage can simultaneously introduce oxygen vacancies and strengthen the interfacial interaction. As a result, the as-prepared CsPbBr3/Co3O4 displays the satisfactory photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance without photosensitizer and sacrificial agent, and the optimal catalyst exhibits that the average electron consumption rate (Relectron) is 158.80 μmol‧g−1‧h−1, which is 12.41 times higher than that of pure CsPbBr3. Photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and experimental characterizations exhibit the formation of strong built-in electric fields probably due to the rich oxygen vacancies in this p-n heterojunction. Besides, DFT calculations confirm that the charge transfer pathway, where the electrons are quickly migrated to the catalytic active sites through the formed Cs-O bonds, thus accelerating the charge separation. This work could establish an effective strategy for the rational design of p-n heterojunctionto achieve high-performance CO2 conversion.

Intrinsic Stress‐strain in Barium Titanate Piezocatalysts Enabling Lithium−Oxygen Batteries with Low Overpotential and Long Life

AbstractRechargeable lithium−oxygen (Li−O2) batteries with high theoretical energy density are considered as promising candidates for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles, whereas their commercial application is hindered due to poor cyclic stability caused by the sluggish kinetics and cathode passivation. Herein, the intrinsic stress originated from the growth and decomposition of the discharge product (lithium peroxide, Li2O2) is employed as a microscopic pressure resource to induce the built‐in electric field, further improving the reaction kinetics and interfacial Lithium ion (Li+) transport during cycling. Piezopotential caused by the intrinsic stress‐strain of solid Li2O2 is capable of providing the driving force for the separation and transport of carriers, enhancing the Li+ transfer, and thus improving the redox reaction kinetics of Li−O2 batteries. Combined with a variety of in situ characterizations, the catalytic mechanism of barium titanate (BTO), a typical piezoelectric material, was systematically investigated, and the effect of stress‐strain transformation on the electrochemical reaction kinetics and Li+ interface transport for the Li−O2 batteries is clearly established. The findings provide deep insight into the surface coupling strategy between intrinsic stress and electric fields to regulate the electrochemical reaction kinetics behavior and enhance the interfacial Li+ transport for battery system.

Intrinsic Stress-strain in Barium Titanate Piezocatalysts Enabling Lithium-Oxygen Batteries with Low Overpotential and Long Life.

Rechargeable lithium-oxygen (Li-O2 ) batteries with high theoretical energy density are considered as promising candidates for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles, whereas their commercial application is hindered due to poor cyclic stability caused by the sluggish kinetics and cathode passivation. Herein, the intrinsic stress originated from the growth and decomposition of the discharge product (lithium peroxide, Li2 O2 ) is employed as a microscopic pressure resource to induce the built-in electric field, further improving the reaction kinetics and interfacial Lithium ion (Li+ ) transport during cycling. Piezopotential caused by the intrinsic stress-strain of solid Li2 O2 is capable of providing the driving force for the separation and transport of carriers, enhancing the Li+ transfer, and thus improving the redox reaction kinetics of Li-O2 batteries. Combined with a variety of in situ characterizations, the catalytic mechanism of barium titanate (BTO), a typical piezoelectric material, was systematically investigated, and the effect of stress-strain transformation on the electrochemical reaction kinetics and Li+ interface transport for the Li-O2 batteries is clearly established. The findings provide deep insight into the surface coupling strategy between intrinsic stress and electric fields to regulate the electrochemical reaction kinetics behavior and enhance the interfacial Li+ transport for battery system.

Two-dimensional type-II MSi2N4/InS (M = Mo, W) heterostructures for photocatalysis

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) ternary monolayer MSi2N4 (M = Mo, W) was synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. However, monolayer MSi2N4 (M = Mo, W) has an indirect bandgap, which seriously hinders its application in optoelectronic devices. Herein, we propose two MSi2N4/InS (M = Mo, W) van der Waals heterojunctions (vdWHs) possessing type-II band alignments by first-principles. Our results indicate that these vdWHs achieve an indirect-to-direct bandgap transition and exhibit fascinating optical absorption spectra in the range of visible light. Moreover, the light absorption efficiencies of both vdWHs are significantly strengthened, and the intrinsic electric field of vdWHs can effectively promote the separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. In particular, the most significant electron mobility of MSi2N4/InS (M = Mo, W) vdWHs is up to 6.6 × 103 cm2 V−1 s−1, demonstrating their considerable potential for optoelectronic device applications. Notably, MSi2N4/InS (M = Mo, W) vdWHs can facilitate water splitting due to their suitable band edges. Therefore, our findings demonstrate two 2D MSi2N4/InS (M = Mo, W) type-II vdWHs with fascinating potentials for photocatalysis.

Kagome-like BiP3 Monolayer: An Emerging Quasi-Direct Auxetic Semiconductor Coupled with High Anisotropic Mobility toward Visible-Light-Driven Photoelectrocatalytic pH-Robust Overall Water-Splitting.

Two-dimensional (2D) Janus materials exhibit an outstanding potential that can meet the rigorous requirements of photocatalytic water splitting resulting from their unique atomic arrangement. However, these materials are quite scarce. Through ab initio density functional theory calculations, we introduce a kagome topology into the honeycomb lattice of blue phosphorene using phosphorus and bismuth atoms to build a hybrid honeycomb-like kagome lattice, realized by a hitherto unknown kagome-like Janus-like BiP3 monolayer with robust stability. Excitingly, the out-of-plane asymmetry benefiting from kagome and honeycomb topologies gives rise to a significantly negative out-of-plane Poisson's ratio and an obvious built-in electric field pointing from the sublayer of the P atom to the sublayer of the Bi atom. In conjunction with the investigations that encompass semiconducting properties, such as a quasi-direct gap, suitable band-edge positions, effective visible-light absorption, and high carrier mobility, the BiP3 monolayer achieves overall water splitting at pH 0-14 regardless of strain. Moreover, this intrinsic electric field provides a sufficient photogenerated carrier driving force for water splitting. The bare BiP3 comprises P and Bi atoms that function as catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) active sites, respectively. Upon exposure to light, the reaction of water into H2 and O2 can be observed across a pH range of 0-14. Meanwhile, by designing a transition-metal single-atom catalyst (TM@BiP3), our investigations have shown that embedding a single TM on BiP3 is a feasible route to improving the HER/OER activity by reducing the overpotentials to -0.039 and 0.58 eV for Mo and Os atoms, respectively. In this case, the positive value of the external potential acts as a sufficient OER driving force, i.e., in the light environment, the Os@BiP3 system can promote water molecules spontaneously oxidized into O2 at pH 0-14.

Electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional III2-VI3 materials with the FE-WZ′ structure

Based on the first-principles calculations, we have investigated the mechanical, phonon, electronic and optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) In2Te3 (FE-WZ′ phase) family. The Y(θ) value for all M2X3 materials exceeds 67 N/m, with Al2S3 exhibiting the best mechanical strength, surpassing to that of MoS2 (∼124.3 N/m in the x and y directions). Phonon calculations reveal that the acoustic branch with the lowest frequency is mainly dominated by out-of-plane vibrations of the metal atoms and non-metallic atoms. Ga2Te3 exhibits dynamic instability due to the softening of the optical phonon branch. Incorporating spin–orbit coupling (SOC) in In2Se3 and In2Te3 converts them into direct semiconductors. These materials possess an electrostatic potential difference ranging from 0.73 to 2.11 eV, which effectively reduces the band gap required for water splitting in the infrared region. Moreover, the M2X3 monolayers with intrinsic electric fields are great coveted photocatalysts for overall water splitting. Remarkably, In2Se3 displays a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 28.6%, which is significant for commercial applications.

Interface engineering induced charge rearrangement boosting reversible oxygen electrocatalysis activity of heterogeneous FeCo-MnO@N-doped carbon nanobox

The advancement of bifunctional oxygen catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is imperative yet challenging for the optimization of Zn-air batteries. In this study, we reported the successful incorporation of a novel Mott-Schottky catalytic site within a MnO-FeCo heterojunction into an N-doping carbon nanobox, taking into consideration the effects of the intrinsic electric field and hollow/porous support carriers for electrocatalyst design. As expected, the resulting heterogeneous catalyst exhibited an encouraging half-wave potential of 0.88 V and an impressive limiting-current density of 5.62 mA/cm2 for the ORR, as well as a minimal overpotential of 271 mV at 10 mA/cm2 for the OER, both in alkaline conditions. Furthermore, the Zn-air battery constructed with the heterojunction nanobox product displayed a decent potential gap of 0.621 V, an outstanding power density of 253 mW/cm2, a considerable specific capacity of 761 mAh/gZn, and exceptional stability, with up to 336 h of cycling charging and discharging operation. Consequently, this method of modulating the catalyst's surface charge distribution through an internal electric field at the interface and facilitating mass transport offers a novel avenue for the development of robust bifunctional oxygen catalysts.

High photocatalytic performance of ferroelectric AgNbO3 in a doping state

The pure AgNbO3 photocatalyst with intrinsic electric field has aroused much interest due to its potential in promoting photocatalytic activity, but the performance was generally restricted by its relative fast recombination of photo-induced charges. Herein, Ag(1–3x)NdxNbO3 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05) powders with good crystalline structures were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction. The photocatalytic capacity of AgNbO3 powders was observably improved by Nd3+ doping due to the enhanced separation of photogenerated charges. In contrast to the pristine one, the photocatalytic efficiency of Ag(1–3x)NdxNbO3 with x = 0.02 (ANN002) raised to 2.78 times (98.6% within 30 min) and the corresponding reaction rate constant increased to 9.87 times (0.1905 min−1 within 15 min) under visible light. The built-in electric field arising from the ferroelectricity of ANN002 may effectively restrain the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The superoxide radicals (·O2-), holes (h+) and hydroxyl radicals (·OH) are involved in the rhodamine B (RhB) degradation activity, and ·O2- and h+ play the major part. Besides, ANN002 achieved the complete RhB degradation under sunlight within 15 min and was able to degrade two other pollutants (methylene blue and tetracycline) under visible light within 30 min, indicating its potential application in photocatalytic field.

Nano-ferroelectric oxidase mimics for colorimetric detection of glutathione

The oxidase-mimicking activity of ferroelectric BaTiO3 nanoparticles (BTO NPs) is reported. In the absence of hydrogen peroxide or oxygen, BTO NPs catalyzed the oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and other chromogenic substrates. The catalytic constant (Kcat) was eight times that of fluorescein and 104 times that of bovine serum albumin-protected Se nanozymes. In the mechanism of the chromogenic reaction catalyzed by BTO NPs, the intrinsic electric field of the ferroelectric BTO drove the separation of holes and electrons, and the separated carriers reacted with water to produce reactive oxygen species that oxidized the chromogenic substrates. The BTO NPs-TMB chromogenic system was used to detect glutathione, which restored the blue-colored oxidized TMB to its colorless initial state. There was a good linear relationship between the absorbance change and the GSH concentration over the range 0.50–20 μM, with a 0.2-μM limit of detection. This work not only proposed a new idea of screening and designing nanozymes from ferroelectric materials but also expand the application of ferroelectric nanomaterials to bio-detection.