Copper oxide supported on nanoporous activated carbon (CuO-NPAC) is reported for the aqueous phase catalytic degradation of cyanotoxin microcystin-LR (MC-LR). The loading and spatial distribution of CuO throughout the NPAC matrix strongly influences catalytic efficiency. CuO-NPAC synthesis was optimized with respect to the copper loading and thermal processing, and the physicochemical properties of the resulting materials characterized by XRD, BET, TEM, SEM, EPR, TGA, XPS and FT-IR spectroscopy. EPR spin trapping and fluorescence spectroscopy evidenced in situ • OH, formation via H 2 O 2 over CuO-NPAC as the catalytically relevant oxidant. The impact of reaction conditions, notably CuO-NPAC loading, H 2 O 2 concentration and solution pH, are discussed in relation to the reaction kinetics for MC-LR remediation.

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