Laccase‐Copper Nanohybrids as Highly Active Catalysts for Bio‐degradation

Phenolic contamination is one of the crucial concerns for the safety of drinking water. Enzymatic degradation is a green and efficient manner for phenolic compounds removal from water. However, enzymatic degradation of phenolic pollutants in water is limited as a result of the low activity, stability and reusability of the enzyme. Herein, we propose a novel strategy to degrade phenolic pollutants in water by using an enzyme‐metal hybrid catalyst constructed by in situ formation of ultrafine Cu nanoparticles on the cross‐linked Laccase aggregates. The designed Cu/Lac CLEAs showed excellent performance on phenolic pollutants removal due to the cooperative catalysis between Lac CLEA and Cu NPs and the enrichment of phenolic pollutants in hybrid catalyst. The degradation efficiency of 2,4,6‐trichlorophenol catalyzed by Cu/Lac CLEAs was improved by 33% compared to the Lac CLEAs, while Cu NPs barely catalyzed the degradation process of phenolic pollutants. The Cu/Lac CLEAs hybrid catalyst exhibit high catalytic activity at room temperature in a wide pH range of 5‐8, making the degradation of phenolic pollutants more practically operational. In other words, this study develops a novel hybrid catalyst for the efficient removal of pollutants from water.