A novel magnetic starch nanocomposite as a green heterogeneous support for immobilization of Cu nanoparticles and selective catalytic application in eco-friendly media

Abstract

In this work, Stipa capensis extract mediated the synthesis of Cu nanoparticles (Cu NPs) and their immobilization on the surface of nanostarch-coated Fe3O4. The prepared nanocatalyst (Cu NPs@Fe3O4-nanostarch) was characterized by fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analytical techniques. The nanocatalyst was used in selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BzOH) into benzaldehyde (BzH) by hydrogen peroxide under solvent-free reaction conditions. The synthesized magnetically recoverable nanocatalyst also showed high activity in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH), congo red (CR), methylene blue (MB), and potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) (K3[Fe(CN)6]) in water using NaBH4 as the reduction agent at ambient temperature. Easy separation of catalyst, mild and eco-friendly reaction conditions, facile work-up, and the reusability of catalyst are some benefits of these methods.