Hierarchical porous silver metal using Pluronic F-127 and graphene oxide as reinforcing agents for the reduction of o-nitroaniline to 1, 2-benzenediamine

Abstract

An elegant method is used to prepare silver monoliths with Pluronic F-127(F-127) as sacrificial template by modified sol-gel method. Si nanoparticles (SiNPs) and graphene oxide (GO) are added in situ to Ag/F-127 hydrogel for the reduction of ο-nitroaniline (ο-NA) to 1, 2-benzenediamine. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman Spectroscopy, Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD) analysis and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) Nitrogen adsorption techniques were used for characterization of monoliths. An epoch-making catalytic activity of Ag/F-127/GO monoliths is observed in the reduction of ο-NA to 1, 2-benzenediamine in presence of NaBH4 in aqueous media. The catalyst Ag/F-127/GO took only 2min which is the minimum time reported so far with significant rate constant claimed itself a leading catalyst for the reduction of ο-NA to 1,2-benzenediamine. Pseudo first order rate constant (k) and Turn over frequency (TOF) values are 0.231min−1 and 30.053×1019 moleculesmin−1 respectively suggest that the catalyst has industrial importance. Recyclability and stability of Ag/F-127/GO catalyst are studied successfully up to 10 cycles. Energy of activation (Ea), and thermodynamic parameters viz. activation enthalpy (ΔH≠), activation Gibbs free energy (ΔG≠), and entropy of activation (ΔS≠) were also ascertained. Catalytic activities of Ag/F-127, Ag/F-127/Dextran, Ag/F-127/Trimethylbenzene (TMB), Ag/F-127/SiNPs, and Ag/F-127/Si/GO monoliths were also studied.