Effective removal of methylene blue and orange II by subsequent immobilized laccase decolorization on crosslinked polymethacrylate/carbon nanotubes

Abstract

In this research, methylene blue (MB) and orange II (OII) were effectively removed through subsequent immobilized laccase degradation on crosslinked polymethacrylate (PMMA)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs). PMMA was coated on CNTs by microemulsion polymerization, and then laccase was immobilized on the PMMA-CNTs. Laccase immobilized on PMMA-CNTs shows a high catalytic ability and stable reusability. The immobilized laccase exhibits a high specific laccase activity and a high decolorization rate on the azo dyes, which the maximum decolorization rate for MB can reach 96% and maximum decolorization rate for OII is 74%. Additionally, the decolorization rate was decreased only about 10% after 10 successive cycles. The immobilized laccase can be a promising multifunction material in wastewater treatment, which would be applied in the decolorization of azo dyes.