Improved Biodegradation of Synthetic Azo Dye by Anionic Cross-Linking of Chloroperoxidase on ZnO/SiO2 Nanocomposite Support

A novel ZnO nanowire/macroporous SiO₂ composite was used as a support to immobilize chloroperoxidase (CPO) by in situ cross-linking method. An anionic bi-epoxy compound was synthesized and used as a long-chained anionic cross-linker, and it was adsorbed on the surface of ZnO nanowires through static interaction before reaction with CPO, creating a new approach to change the structure, property, and catalytic performance of the produced cross-linking enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) of CPO. The immobilized CPO showed high activity in the decolorization of three azo dyes. The effect of various conditions such as the loading amount of CPO, solution pH, temperature, and dye concentration was optimized on the decolorization. Under optimized conditions, the decolorization percentage of Acid Blue 113, Direct Black 38, and Acid Black 10 BX reached as high as 95.4, 92.3, and 89.1%, respectively. The immobilized CPO exhibited much better thermostability and resistance to pH inactivation than free CPO. The storage stability and reusability were greatly improved through the immobilization. It was found from the decolorization of Acid Blue 113 that 83.6% of initial activity retained after incubation at 4 °C for 60 days and that 80.9% of decolorization efficiency retained after 12 cycles of reuses.