Pd nanoparticles supported on magnetic CoTiMgLDH with enhanced catalytic activity in Suzuki cross‐coupling and reductive degradation of dyes

Abstract

With an aim to combine the catalytic properties of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) with the excellent characteristics of porous layered double hydroxides (LDH), in the present study, four different catalysts (Pd/Fe3O4‐CoTiMgAlLDH, Pd/Fe3O4‐CoTiMgLDH, Pd/Fe3O4‐CoTiAlLDH and Pd/Fe3O4‐CoTiLDH) were synthesized by supporting Pd NPs onto four different Fe3O4‐LDH supports, which were synthesized by varying the metals in LDH. The catalytic activity of these catalysts was studied for Suzuki coupling and reductive degradation of dyes. Pd/Fe3O4‐CoTiMgLDH outperformed the other catalysts in both reactions. The synthesized catalysts were examined via different characterization techniques like X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR‐TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX), energy dispersive X‐ray mapping (SEM–EDX mapping), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP‐AES) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). On the basis of results obtained from XPS and the experimental data, Fe3O4‐CoTiMgLDH was found to be the support of choice as it not only stabilized the Pd0 NPs but also increased the electron density on the anchored Pd0 species, which enhanced the catalytic activity of Pd/Fe3O4‐CoTiMgLDH for studied organic transformations.