Immobilization of catalase from Aspergillus niger on inorganic and biopolymeric supports for H2O2 decomposition

This paper studies the H2O2 decomposition using supported catalase. The supports are γ-Al2O3, FeCl2-treated γ-Al2O3, glutaraldehyde-treated chitosan and glutaraldehyde-treated cellulose. Catalase/γ-Al2O3 is inactive, but the treatment with FeCl2 renders the oxide active. The extended Hückel type analysis (EHMO) indicates that the alumina–catalase interaction is strong, suggesting that a denaturation of the enzyme is accomplished when supporting on this oxide. Amongst all the samples, catalase/glutaraldehyde–cellulose is the most active, especially after 6 months of storage. After aging, catalase/glutaraldehyde–chitosan becomes inactive, probably due to the fact that NH2 groups on chitosan react with the enzyme active sites.