Laccase is an effective biocatalyst for the degradation of persistent phenolic pollutants. However, its high cost and instability under harsh operational conditions hinder its applications. Hence a peptide/nucleotide-matrix-free laccase mimetic nanozyme would be attractive. Herein, MoS2/Cu is synthesized as a laccase mimic for catalytic oxidation of phenolic pollutants. Characterization of the nanozyme by SEM-EDX, XRD, and XPS confirmed the presence of multi-oxidation state copper on MoS2 which is consistent with the composition of natural laccase. The laccase mimetic activity of MoS2/Cu was examined by using 2,4-dichloro phenol as a substrate which oxidized to form a colored product with 4-aminoantipyrine (λmax = 510 nm). Surprisingly, MoS2/Cu showed 55.6% higher activity than pristine Cu NPs at pH 7, indicating the role of MoS2 as an effective scaffold. The catalytic reaction exhibited a lower Km (0.11 mM) than that reported for natural laccase. MoS2/Cu showed improved stability retaining 84.63% of its activity at 90 °C and lost only 10.93% of its activity after one month. Furthermore, it exhibited remarkable activity in the presence of different salts and alcohol stress. Notably, the nanozyme converted over 92% of phenolic substrates in 9 h. The results imply a robust performance for the remediation of phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]