Engineering Redox-Active Nanozymes as Emerging Tools for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Over the past century, agrochemicals have boosted crop productivity and food supply, but concerns over environmental pollution and agricultural sustainability have increased interest in alternative technologies. Redox-active nanozymes are promising tools for regulating ROS-dependent stress responses and pollutant transformation, yet their agricultural use remains limited by insufficient mechanistic understanding. This review examines their major catalytic pathways involved in ROS generation, scavenging, and signaling in agroecosystems. Representative applications are discussed in crop protection, including abiotic-stress mitigation, pathogen control, and insecticide synergism through ROS homeostasis, antioxidant defense, hormone responses, photosynthetic maintenance, ion balance, and metabolic adjustment; and in agroenvironmental management, including detection and removal of pesticides, mycotoxins, antibiotics, heavy metals, and phenolic pollutants. Green synthesis and post-treatment strategies are also summarized. Finally, we discuss challenges in nanozyme design for agricultural scenarios, field stability and efficacy, economic feasibility, intrinsic toxicity, long-term environmental fate, and ecological risk.