Laccase-mimicking selective catalysis of phenolic substrates by chiral manganese dioxide nanoparticles

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.067

J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 264: 211-218.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.067

Laccase-mimicking selective catalysis of phenolic substrates by chiral manganese dioxide nanoparticles

Zhihao Mu^a,b,1, En Yang^a,b,1, Wanning Chen^a,b, Mustafa Zeb^a,b, Yuan Zhao^c, Yinzhi Zhang^d, Jian Zhu^e, Wei Ma^a,b,*

^aState Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China;
^bSchool of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China;
^cSchool of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China;
^dJiangnan University Analysis and Testing Center, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China;
^eSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China

Received:2025-07-08 Revised:2025-10-19 Accepted:2025-10-20 Published:2026-09-10 Online:2026-09-02
Contact: ^*E-mail addresses: mw@jiangnan.edu.cn , mawei209@126.com (W. Ma) .
About author:¹ These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Abstract: Laccase-mimicking materials have garnered significant attention due to their potential to overcome the limitations of catalytic activity in natural enzymes. In this study, chiral manganese dioxide (MnO₂) nanoparticles in the 4-valent manganese form were synthesized using manganese sulfate and potassium permanganate as raw materials, with chiral amino acids serving as ligands under hydrothermal conditions. When using 2,4-dichlorophenol as the substrate, D-phenylalanine (Phe)-MnO₂ and L-glutamate-MnO₂ exhibited maximum reaction rates of 0.0469 and 0.0406 mM/min, respectively. The laccase-mimicking activity of these two materials significantly exceeded that of natural laccase. When using 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) as a chiral substrate, the phenylalanine-modified MnO₂ nanozymes demonstrated superior stereoselectivity. Specifically, D-Phe-MnO₂ nanozymes showed the highest oxidation capacity for L-DOPA (K_m: 0.0397 mM), while L-Phe-MnO₂ nanozymes exhibited the strongest capacity for D-DOPA (K_m: 0.0413 mM). The incorporation of chiral ligands enhanced the catalytic performance and introduced selective catalytic activity. These findings open new avenues for designing enzyme-mimicking materials that are highly effective for asymmetric catalysis, with promising applications for sustainable catalysis and chiral synthesis.

Key words: Chirality, MnO₂ NPs, Laccase-mimicking, Selective catalysis

Zhihao Mu, En Yang, Wanning Chen, Mustafa Zeb, Yuan Zhao, Yinzhi Zhang, Jian Zhu, Wei Ma. Laccase-mimicking selective catalysis of phenolic substrates by chiral manganese dioxide nanoparticles[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 264: 211-218.

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Laccase-mimicking selective catalysis of phenolic substrates by chiral manganese dioxide nanoparticles

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