Abstract
The pervasive use of toxic nitroaromatics in industrial processes and their prevalence in industrial effluent has motivated the development of remediation strategies, among which is their catalytic reduction to the less toxic and synthetically useful aniline derivatives. While this area of research has a rich history with innumerable examples of active catalysts, the majority of systems rely on expensive precious metals and are submicron- or even a few-nanometer-sized colloidal particles. Such systems provide invaluable academic insight but are unsuitable for practical application. Herein, we report the fabrication of catalysts based on ultralow loading of the semiprecious metal ruthenium on 2–4 mm diameter spherical alumina monoliths. Ruthenium loading is achieved by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and catalytic activity is benchmarked using the ubiquitous para-nitrophenol, NaBH4 aqueous reduction protocol. Recyclability testing points to a very robust catalyst system with intrinsic ease of handling.
Highlights
Nitroaromatics represent a family of broadly used compounds in industrial processes; for example, in pesticide, fungicide, textile and pharmaceutical manufacturing
Catalytic reduction of 4NP is conducted in deionized water (DIW) with a large excess of a hydrogen source, such as sodium borohydride (NaBH4 ), which provides surface
(280.1 with a spin-orbit splitting of 4.17 eV) strongly overlapped with carbon-1s (284.5 eV), making the analysis necessarily difficult in the first place. These results suggest that a simpler analogue to monitor the chemical state of Ru on Al2 O3 needs to be formulated
Summary
Nitroaromatics represent a family of broadly used compounds in industrial processes; for example, in pesticide, fungicide, textile and pharmaceutical manufacturing They are a common pollutant in aqueous industrial effluent, notably displaying acute toxicity and potential carcinogenicity. This has motivated the study of remediation strategies, namely the mild-conditions -NO2 group reduction to yield their less toxic and synthetically useful aniline (-NH2 ) derivatives. Among this general reaction family, the catalytic reduction of para- or 4-nitrophenol (4NP) has emerged as the benchmark test for catalysts— for relevant environmental remediation, and as a universal rapid screening test for heterogeneous catalyst reduction activity [1,2,3].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
