In-situ fabrication of ultrafine Pd supported on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide via nitrogen glow discharge plasma for catalytic reduction of 4-Nitrophenol

Abstract

The ultrafine Pd nanoparticles (PdNPs) supported on N-doped partially reduced graphene oxide (Pd/PNGO) were in-situ synthesized by nitrogen glow discharge plasma using a one-step method without any protective agents and chemical reducing agents. The N-doping and reduction of graphene oxide occurred simultaneously as the reduction of Pd2+. The as-prepared Pd/PNGO was characterized by XRD, TEM, FT-IR, Raman spectra and XPS analysis. The particle size of PdNPs distributes in the range of 1.03–3.46 nm with average size of 2.51 nm. The ultrafine PdNPs are highly dispersed on PNGO with less agglomeration due to the in-situ reduction. The interaction between PdNPs and N/O functional groups on N-doped partially reduced graphene oxide (PNGO) plays a crucial role on particle size and dispersion. The catalyst performed excellent catalytic property for reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) at room temperature. The turnover frequency (TOF) is 366.9 h−1, which is 35 times than that of commercial Pd/C catalyst.