Cu2O/rGO as an efficient photocatalyst for transferring of nitro group to amine group under visible light irradiation

Abstract

In this investigation, we prepared and developed a photocatalyst for catalyzing the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds to their corresponding aromatic amines with hydrazine monohydrate. The photocatalyst (Cu2O/rGO) was synthesized through the simultaneous reduction of Cu(OAC)2 and graphene oxide which led to the formation of rGO (reduced graphene oxide) sheets grafted by Cu2O. The prepared photocatalyst was studied and identified by FTIR, GC/MS, DRS, XPS, XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDAX, BET and Raman spectroscopy. These studies shows that 2D rGO is well-decorated by Cu2O nanoparticles. Cu2O/rGO was used as photocatalyst for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds to their corresponding ammine in the presence of visible light irradiation with hydrazine monohydrate. The recyclability of the catalyst was evaluated for six times which showed no significant variation in the reaction conversion.