Preparation of Cu2O/Au Composite Nanomaterials for Effective Reduction of 4‐Nitrophenol

Abstract

AbstractThe conversion of nitroaromatics to aminobenzene plays an important role in the synthesis of medicines or fine chemicals. In this work, we successfully prepared Cu2O/Au nanocubes with different Au content for the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol. With the increase of gold precursor concentration or reaction time, the density of Au nanoparticles (NPs)on Cu2O surface increases, which results in the stronger electron transfer between Au and Cu2O, and thus the better synergistic catalytic performance of Cu2O/Au nanoparticles toward 4‐Nitrophenol (4‐NP). In this work, we found the Au component in the nanoparticles played an important role in charge redistribution and transfer, as well as the adsorption and reduction of 4‐NP. Therefore, the degradation performance of Cu2O/Au composite is better than that of pure Cu2O, and the degradation rate of 4‐NP can reach almost 90 % in 10 min, therefore providing a new idea for the rational design of effective nanocatalysts.