Nano-Cellulose/MOF Derived Carbon Doped CuO/Fe₃O₄ Nanocomposite as High Efficient Catalyst for Organic Pollutant Remedy.

Hailong Lu,Xiaofan Zhou,Jinxia Ma,Lili Zhang,Yonghao Ni,Nur Alam

doi:10.3390/nano9020277

Hailong Lu, Xiaofan Zhou + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nano9020277

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Abstract

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-based derivatives are attracting increased interest in various research fields. In this study, nano-cellulose MOF-derived carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 nanocomposites were successfully synthesized via direct calcination of magnetic Cu-BTC MOF (HKUST-1)/Fe3O4/cellulose microfibril (CMF) composites in air. The morphology, structure, and porous properties of carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 nanocomposites were characterized using SEM, TEM, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The results show that the as-prepared nanocomposite catalyst is composed of Fe3O4, CuO, and carbon. Compared to the CuO/Fe3O4 catalyst from HKUST-1/Fe3O4 composite and CuO from HKUST-1, this carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 nanocomposite catalyst shows better catalytic efficiency in reduction reactions of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), methylene blue (MB), and methyl orange (MO) in the presence of NaBH4. The enhanced catalytic performance of carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 is attributed to effects of carbon preventing the aggregation of CuO/Fe3O4 and providing high surface-to-volume ratio and chemical stability. Moreover, this nanocomposite catalyst is readily recoverable using an external magnet due to its superparamagnetic behavior. The recyclability/reuse of carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 was also investigated.

Highlights

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) were widely used in the fields of biomedicine and chemical reactions due to their high selectivity and catalytic efficiency [1,2,3]
Metal–organic framework (MOF) can be readily converted to metal-oxide composites, which take advantage of their original morphology and porosity
Pyrolysis/thermolysis of HKUST-1/Fe3O4/cellulose microfibril (CMF) composites led to the formation of porous carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 composites

Summary

Introduction

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) were widely used in the fields of biomedicine and chemical reactions due to their high selectivity and catalytic efficiency [1,2,3]. Niu et al synthesized a hybrid catalyst consisting of Cu/Cu2O NPs supported on porous carbon for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) using HKUST-1 as a precursor [27]. We applied the as-prepared carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 composite catalysts for the catalytic reduction of 4-NP. In comparison with a CuO/Fe3O4 composite from HKUST-1/Fe3O4 composite and CuO, is remarkably better, which is attributed to the fact that carbon doping can (1) minimize the aggregation of CuO/Fe3O4, (2) provide high surface-to-volume ratio and chemical stability for the catalyst in contact with the target pollutants, and (3) enhance the catalytic activity of the CuO/Fe3O4 catalyst. The carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 composite catalyst has excellent efficiency in the reduction of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO). The features of the carbon-doped CuO/Fe3O4 composite catalyst are as follows: CuO acts as the effective catalyst, with the doped carbon having the three functions discussed, and the magnetic Fe3O4 supports easy reuse/recycling of the catalyst using a magnet

Materials

Characterization

Evaluation of Catalytic Performance

Results and Discussion

Structure and Morphological Characterization