Rhus vernificera laccase immobilization on Ti₂N MXene as a potential biocatalyst in environmental remediation

MXenes are two-dimensional materials that possess remarkable properties, including large surface area, surface terminations (F, O, OH), and mechanical and thermal stability. These properties are exceptional in providing enzymes’ chemical and thermal stability for industrial applications through immobilizing enzymes on MXenes as support. They will thus be explored and investigated in this work. Therefore, Ti₂NT_x MXene was successfully etched from Ti₂AlN MAX using a LiF-HCl mixture. The morphology and characteristic properties of the synthesized MAX and MXene were confirmed using microscopic (SEM–EDS and TEM) and spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, Raman, XPS, and XRD), respectively. Subsequently, the synthesized MXene was used to covalently immobilize laccase Rhus vernicifera with glutaraldehyde as a bifunctional linker. Hexamethylenediamine was used as a spacer to protrude the enzyme from the support (MXene). The immobilization yield of laccase on Ti₂NT_x was 11.6%, with laccase activity of 7.81 × 10⁻³ U/mg for 2 mg/mL initial free laccase concentration. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]