Synthesis and characterization of ultrafined palladium nanoparticles decorated on 2D magnetic graphene oxide nanosheets and their application for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Abstract

In this study, Pd NPs/Fe3O4/PEI/RGO nanohybrids were synthesized by dispersion of ultrafined Pd nanoparticles and the subsequent assembly of coupled Fe3O4 nanoparticles on polyethyleneimine-functionalized graphene oxide sheets. Transmission electron microscopic images showed that Pd nanoparticles were ultrafined and well-dispersed on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets, and the mean particle size of Pd is around 2.2nm. The nanohybrids were found to exhibit high catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in aqueous solution, which is attributed to the effects of ultrafined Pd nanoparticles decorated on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. More importantly, the Pd NPs/Fe3O4/PEI/RGO catalyst could be conveniently separated from the reaction mixture by a magnet, and the catalyst was recycled over ten times without a significant loss in its activity. Therefore, the promising nanocatalyst might have wide applications in catalysis, environment, biotechnology and new energy fields in the future.