Surface Structural Properties Research Articles

Effect of freeze-thaw cycles and biochar coupling on the soil water-soil environment, nitrogen adsorption and N2O emissions in seasonally frozen regions

Freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) usually occur in the nongrowing season of crops, and the temporal mismatch between soil nitrogen (N) supply and crop N utilization increases the risk of N loss. Crop straw burning is a seasonal air pollution source, and biochar provides new alternatives for waste biomass recycling and soil pollution remediation. To investigate the effect of biochar on N loss and N2O emissions under frequent FTCs, different biochar content treatments (0 %, 1 %, 2 %) were set, and laboratory simulated soil column FTC tests were conducted. Based on the Langmuir and Freundlich models, the surface microstructure evolution and N adsorption mechanism of biochar before and after FTCs were analyzed, and the change characteristics of the soil water-soil environment, available N and N2O emissions under the interactive effect of FTCs and biochar were studied. The results showed that FTCs increased the oxygen (O) content by 19.69 % and the N content by 17.75 % and decreased the carbon (C) content by 12.39 % of biochar. The increase in the N adsorption capacity of biochar after FTCs was related to changes in surface structure and chemical properties. Biochar can improve the soil water-soil environment, adsorb available nutrients, and reduce N2O emissions by 35.89 %–46.31 %. The water-filled pore space (WFPS) and urease activity (S-UE) were the main environmental factors determining N2O emissions. Ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), as substrates of N biochemical reactions, significantly affected N2O emissions. The interaction of biochar content and FTCs in different treatments had significant effects on available N (p < 0.05). The application of biochar is an effective way to reduce N loss and N2O emissions under the action of frequent FTCs. These research results can provide a reference for the rational application of biochar and efficient utilization of soil hydrothermal resources in seasonally frozen soil areas.

Field emission characteristics of MWCNT- bimetal (Cu and In) hybrids: Correlation with morphology, microstructure and electronic structure

In the current study, vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and bi-metal (Cu and In) decorated CNTs were synthesized over Si substrates using Thermal Chemical Vapour Deposition technique and the thermal evaporation method. Different characterization techniques studied the surface morphology, structural properties, and elemental composition of the prepared samples. Field emission measurements were executed on the as-prepared samples. In-Cu-MWCNTs exhibit an enhanced current density of 7.46 mA/cm2 as compared to 2.83 mA/cm2 of pristine CNTs. A meticulous study of the electronic structure along with the basic field emission parameters reveals that the graphitic content of carbon (C) as well as the density of state and electronic structure variation are responsible for the improved field emission properties of the CNT-bimetal hybrids. The study opens a new area of research in CNT-bi-metal decorated hybrids for various field emission applications.

An approach to investigate the structural, morphological, and optical properties of spray pyrolyzed B and Mg co-doped ZnO thin films

Thin films of Boron (B) and Magnesium (Mg) co-doped Zinc Oxide (BMZO) were produced by spray pyrolysis on a glass substrate at a temperature of 350 °C. This study considers BZO as the base material and then varies the Mg (as dopant) percentage to produce BMZO thin films. The surface morphology and structural aspects of the films are affected by different doping concentrations. By altering the Mg (dopant) content between 1%, 3%, and 5%, the influence of varied doping concentrations on the surface morphology and structural properties of the BMZO thin films was examined and discussed. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the surface morphology and structural characteristics of the synthesized films. All ZnO films, according to X-ray diffraction, are polycrystalline and preferred orientations along the (100), (002), (101), (102), and (110). The prominent peak orientation of the crystal was in the (002) direction. A typical hexagonal wurtzite structure was identified in the films, with crystallite sizes ranging from 6.12 to 13.5 nm. The Crystallite size increased with Mg doping up to a certain threshold (3% Mg doping), and then decreased with more doping. According to SEM results, nano-fiber diameter and area grew when Mg concentration in MgxB.03Zn.97-xO (BMZO) increased and subsequently decreased at 5% Mg-doped BZO. The optical characterization was done using a UV–Visible spectrophotometer. Transparency of the films was very high (above 90%) in the ultraviolet range of spectral for 3% Mg-doped BZO with a corresponding band-gap was 3.28 eV. Transparency reduced slightly for 1% Mg-doped and undoped BZO with increasing deposition concentration, while it decreased significantly for 5% Mg-doped BZO.

Catalytic degradation of carbamazepine by surface-modified zerovalent copper via the activation of peroxymonosulphate: mechanism, degradation pathways and ecotoxicity

ABSTRACT In this research work, surface-modified nano zerovalent copper (nZVC) was prepared using a simple borohydride reduction method. The spectroscopic and crystallographic results revealed the successful synthesis of surface-modified nano zerovalent copper (nZVC) using solvents such as ethanol (ETOH), ethylene glycol (EG) and tween80 (T80). The as-synthesized material was fully characterized for morphological surface and crystal structural properties. The results indicated that EG provides an excellent synthesis environment to nZVC compared to ETOH and T80 in terms of good dispersion, high surface area and excellent catalytic properties. The catalytic efficiency of nZVC/EG was investigated alone and with peroxymonosulphate (PMS) in the absence of light. The degradation results demonstrated that the involvement of PMS synergistically boosted the catalytic efficiency of synthesized nZVC/EG material. Furthermore, the degradation products (DPs) of CBZ were determined by GC−MS and subsequently, the degradation pathways were proposed. The ecotoxicity analysis of the DPs was also explored. The proposed (nZVC/EG/PMS) system is economical and efficient and thus could be applied for the degradation of CBZ from an aquatic system after altering the degradation pathways in such a way that results in harmless products.

Effect of post annealing on DC magnetron sputtered tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films for smartwindow applications

Tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films were deposited on Fluorine Doped Tin Oxide (FTO) and Corning Glass (CG) glass substrate by DC magnetron sputtering. The annealing temperature was varied to study its effect on surface morphology, structural, electrochromic (EC), and optical properties and these are investigated by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, Cyclic voltammetry, and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy. From SEM analysis WO3 thin films annealed at 27 °C, 100 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C were shown to crack free after that cracked film was observed for 400 °C. From the XRD investigation that the WO3 thin films annealed at 27 °C, 100 °C, 200 °C, and 300 °C were amorphous and crystallized at 400 °C. The optical band gap (Eg) of WO3 films was decreased from 2.98 eV to 2.30 eV with an increase in annealed temperature. The coloration efficiency (CE) was observed at 51.26 cm2/C at 300 °C and 35.06 cm2/C at 400 °C and the lowest diffusion coefficient was observed at 5.86 × 10−10 cm2/s at 400 °C. On coloring efficiency, which can be very important in electrochromic (EC) applications, post-annealing has been seen to have a strong influence.

Sequential self-propelled morphology transitions of nanoscale condensates enable a cascade jumping-droplet condensation

Jumping-droplet condensation, namely the out-of-plane jumping of condensed droplets upon coalescence, has been a promising technical innovation in the fields of energy harvesting, droplet manipulation, thermal management, etc., yet is limited owing to the challenge of enabling a sustainable and programmable control. Here, we characterized the morphological evolutions and dynamic behaviors of nanoscale condensates on different nanopillar surfaces, and found that there exists an unrevealed domino effect throughout the entire droplet lifecycle and the coalescence is not the only mechanism to access the droplet jumping. The vapor nucleation preferentially occurs in structure intervals, thus the formed liquid embryos incubate and grow in a spatially confined mode, which stores an excess surface energy and simultaneously provides a asymmetric Laplace pressure, stimulating the trapped droplets to undergo a dewetting transition or even a self-jumping, which can be facilitated by the tall and dense nanostructures. Subsequently, the adjacent droplets merge mutually and further trigger more multifarious self-propelled behaviors that are affected by underlying surface nanostructure, including dewetting transition, coalescence-induced jumping and jumping relay. Moreover, an improved energy-based model was developed by considering both the surface structure properties and the nano-physical effects, the theoretical prediction not only extends the coalescence-induced jumping to the nanometer-sized droplets but also correlates the surface nanostructure topology to the jumping velocity. Such a domino effect of nucleation-growth-coalescence on the ultimate morphology of droplet may offer a new strategy for designing functional nanostructured surfaces that serve to orientationally manipulate, transport and collect droplets, and motivate surface engineers to realize a stable cascade jumping-droplet condensation and achieve its performance ceiling.

Comparative study of structural, optical and electrical properties variation of pure, (Ag, Mg) doped and co-doped ZnO nanostructured thin films

Abstract Nanostructured thin films are one of the most valuable types of industrial semiconductors for a variety of optoelectronics and optical device applications, having recently been used as a transparent conductive oxide in solar cells. In this work, nanostructured thin films of pure ZnO, Ag doped ZnO, Mg doped ZnO and Ag–Mg co-doped ZnO were successfully synthesized on silicon and glass substrates, using rapid thermal evaporation. The impact of the doping elements on the surface morphology, structural, electrical, and optical properties of the deposited films were investigated. It was found that all films have polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure using X-ray diffraction. Images obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed compact and smooth surfaces, with uniform coverage of all substrate regions. SEM images confirm the nanostructured nature of the surfaces with particle size varying as a function of doping. Raman spectroscopy showed A1(LO), E2(high) and LVM modes for all samples. The developed films’ optical transmission ranged from 74 % to 87 %, with an optical bandgap ranging from 3.09 for Mg:ZnO films to 3.8 eV for Ag:ZnO samples. Depending on the doping nature modification, these alterations were associated to structural and morphological changes in the films. All films were electrically conductive, while Ag:ZnO films exhibited the lowest resistivity value reaching 0.56 Ω cm.

Novel femur-like multimodal ultrahigh strength structure with superb freedom based on the improvement strategy of curvature fabricated by additive manufacturing

Based on the microstructure of biological femur, the femur-like multimodal surface structures are designed. But they exhibit fracture behavior when the porosity changes, resulting in structural failure. The high curvature surface factor is introduced to improve the fracture behavior of the biomimetic surface structure. Combine the high curvature surface factor to construct novel biomimetic homogenized surface structures. Novel radial gradient surface structures and axial gradient surface structures are designed based on the construction concept of cone functions and linear functions gradients. Theoretical, experimental and numerical methods are used to investigate the mechanical properties of novel biomimetic multimodal surface structures. Euler theory states that the properties of lattice structures are determined by the relative density of structures. The load distribution in the radially gradient structure is uniform, and the deformation mode presents overall failure, which can achieve better resistance and dissipation of the load. The deformation modes of axial gradient structures present layered failure. The underlying mechanism of the difference in mechanical properties of biomimetic multimodal structures is explained in detail. It’s very important significance for targeted application in protective engineering.

Facile synthesis of chlorella-derived autogenous N-doped porous biochar for adsorption on tetracycline

In this study, an autogenous N-doped biochar derived from Chlorella (CVAC) was prepared with NaOH as activator at 800 °C. The surface structural properties of CVAC and the adsorption performance of CVAC on tetracycline (TC) under different adsorption variables were analyzed and investigated using different characterization methods. The results showed that the specific surface area of CVAC was 491.16 m2 g−1 and the adsorption process was in accordance with Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity of TC was 310.696 mg g−1 at pH 9 and 50 °C, and it was mainly physical adsorption. Furthermore, the cyclic adsorption-desorption behavior of CVAC using ethanol as eluent was evaluated and the feasibility of its long-term application was explored. CVAC also showed good cyclic performance. The variation of ΔG° and ΔH° confirmed that the adsorption of TC by CVAC was a spontaneous heat absorption process.

Surface Structure and Optical Property Modulation of Hybrid‐Peptide‐Capped Gold Nanoclusters and their Aggregation‐Induced Emission Enhancement Behavior

AbstractThe impact of the regularity of the surface structure on the intra‐/inter‐particle behavior of luminescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) remains to be unambiguously clarified. Herein, an in‐depth investigation of the relationship between surface structure and the emission pattern of luminescent gold NCs (GNCs) is conducted using a series of NCs coated with opposite‐charged peptides (glutathione [GSH] and poly‐L‐lysine [PLL]) to unravel mutual interactions between ligands and to determine the predominant role of the arrangement of Au(I)‐ligand motifs in respect to their optical properties. GNCs with different emission patterns of 640 nm‐, 820 nm‐, or dual‐emitting are obtained by tuning the adding ratio of PLL to GSH. Moreover, the 640 nm‐emitting GNCs show aggregation‐induced emission enhancement behavior after the introduction of the Pb2+ ion, which is used to determine the quantity of Pb2+ with a limit of detection as low as 44 nm.

Effect of Pyrolysis on iron-metal organic frameworks (MOFs) to Fe3C @ Fe5C2 for diesel production in Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis.

The Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) is a significant catalytic chemical reaction that produces ultra-clean fuels or chemicals with added value from a syngas mixture of CO and H2 obtained from biomass, coal, or natural gas. The presence of sulfur is not considered good for producing liquid fuels for(FTS). In this study, we reveal that the presence of sulfur in ferric sulfate Fe2(SO4)3 MOF provides the high amount, 52.50% of light hydrocarbons in the carbon chain distribution. The calcined ferric nitrate Fe(NO₃)₃ MOF reveals the highest 93.27% diesel production. Calcination is regarded as an essential factor in enhancing liquid fuel production. Here, we probed the calcination effect of Metal Organic Framework (MOF) on downstream application syngas to liquid fuels. The XRD results of MOF. N and P. MOF.N shows the formation of the active phase of iron carbide (Fe5C2), considered the most active phase of FTS. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of iron sulfate MOF catalyst (P.MOF.S) reveals that the existence of sulfur creates pores inside the particles due to the reaction of free water molecules with the sulfur derivate. The surface functional groups of prepared MOFs and tested MOFS were analyzed by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The thermal stability of prepared MOFS was analyzed by Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). The surface areas and structural properties of the catalysts were measured by N2-Physiosorption technique.

Metal-atom-doped W18O49 nanowires for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline medium

• The Co-W 18 O 49 nanowires were designed as OER electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline medium. • The incorporation of Co atoms can effectively modulate localized charge distribution of Co-W 18 O 49 nanowires. • The high-spin state of Co 3+ cations is benefited for the optimization of bonding strength between Co sites and the adsorbed oxygen species. Non-noble transition metal oxides (TMOs) are promising catalysts with improved catalytic activity and stability in oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the structural complexity of TMO-based electrocatalysts renders the determination of the active sites and OER mechanisms challenging. Here, we demonstrate that the OER activity of Co-doped one-dimensional W 18 O 49 (Co-W 18 O 49 ) is intrinsically dominated by the surface structure and electronic properties of the octahedral sites and Co–O–W bonds. Compared with RuO 2 and W 18 O 49 heterogeneous electrocatalysts, Co-W 18 O 49 exhibits higher turnover frequency, attaining 1.97 s −1 at 500 mV overpotential. The results indicate that Co substitution contributes to the localized charge distribution of the active octahedral sites constructed by the Co–O–W bonds under OER conditions. Here, we determine the mechanism of TMOs for the OER, which may be applied to various other TMOs for OER electrocatalyst design.

Fabrication and characterization of poly(tannic acid) coated magnetic clay decorated with cobalt nanoparticles for NaBH4 hydrolysis: RSM-CCD based modeling and optimization

Hydrogen generation from sodium borohydride (NaBH4) hydrolysis in the presence of metal catalysts is a frequently used and encouraging method for hydrogen storage. Metal nanoparticle-supported catalysts are better recyclability and dispersion than unsupported metal catalysts. In this study, the synthesis and characterization of a polymer-supported catalyst for hydrogen generation using NaBH4 have been investigated. For the synthesis of polymeric material, first of all, kaolin (KLN) clay has been magnetically rendered by using the co-precipitation method (Fe3O4@KLN) and then coated with poly tannic acid (PTA@Fe3O4@KLN). Then, the catalyst loaded with cobalt (Co) nanoparticles have been obtained with the NaBH4 reduction method (Co@PTA@Fe3O4@KLN). The surface morphology and structural properties of the prepared catalysts have been determined using methods such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The optimization of the most important variables (NaBH4 amount, NaOH amount, catalyst amount, and metal loading rate) affecting the hydrolysis of NaBH4 using the synthesized polymeric catalysts was carried out using response surface methodology (RSM). Depending on the evaluated parameters, the desired response was determined to be hydrogen production rate (HGR, mL/g min). HGR was 1540.4 mL/gcat. min. in the presence of the Co@PTA@Fe3O4@KLN at optimum points obtained via RSM (NaBH4 amount 0.34 M, NaOH amount 7.9 wt%, catalyst amount 3.84 mg/mL, and Co loading rate 6.1%). The reusability performance of the catalyst used in hydrolysis of NaBH4 was investigated under optimum conditions. It was concluded that the catalyst is quite stable.

Microfiltration Membranes Modified with Zinc by Plasma Treatment.

Polymer membranes play an important role in various filtration processes. The modification of a polyamide membrane surface by one-component Zn and ZnO coatings and two-component Zn/ZnO coatings is presented in this work. The technological parameters of the Magnetron Sputtering-Physical Vapor Deposition method (MS-PVD) for the coatings deposition process show an impact on the influence on the membrane's surface structure, chemical composition, and functional properties. The characterization of surface structure and morphology were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. In addition, surface roughness and wettability measurements were also made. For checking the antibacterial activity, the two representative strains of bacteria Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) were used. The filtration tests showed that polyamide membranes covered with three types of coatings, one-component Zn coatings, ZnO coatings, and two-component Zn/ZnO coatings, presented similar properties. The obtained results show that using the MS-PVD method for modification of the membrane's surface is a very promising perspective in the prevention of biofouling.

Photo-electrochemical water splitting and electrochemical performance of silicon nanowire arrays

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were prepared using n-Si(100) by a simple two-step metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) approach with different durations of 15 and 30 min. Surface morphology, structural, and optical properties of prepared SiNWs were investigated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV–vis absorption, respectively. Under visible light, a photoelectrochemical cell (PEC) was used to measure the properties of a photoanode device that was fabricated based on n-SiNWs for splitting water. At 0.78 V, the SiNWs that were prepared in 30 min had a photocurrent density of 3.72 mA.cm−2 and a photoconversion efficiency (η) of 1.37%. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements showed that both the n-Si(100) wafer and the n-SiNWs that were made with etching times of 15 and 30 min showed faradaic behavior with redox peaks. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the SiNWs photoanode prepared with 30 min of etching time had a charge transfer resistance of 3112.3. This is low enough to make it easy for charge to move across the interface. The Mott-Schottky (M-S) analysis revealed a high concentration of carriers of 4.77 × 1021 cm−3 at the working electrode/electrolyte interface,

The finite size effect on the surface structure and thermal properties of nanostructured natural pumice

ABSTRACT Natural pumice materials have attracted wide attention owing to their unique physical and chemical properties that are suitable for various applications. This study investigated the finite size effect on the surface, crystal structure and thermal properties of nanostructured pumice. For this, nanostructured pumice samples were prepared using high-energy ball milling for different durations (0, 1, 2, 3, and 7 h), which reduced the particle size from 1117 nm to 100 nm and increased the surface area from 0.83 to 18 m2/gm (i.e. by more than 21 times). All the nano pumice samples have the same chemical composition and crystal structure. However, the crystallisation of the samples decreased with decrease in the particle size. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed an increase in weight loss from 1% to 12% with decreasing particle size, owing to humidity resulting from the porosity of the samples. While the differential scanning calorimetry results revealed thermal stability of the samples with the decrease in particle size, no changes in the melting point or oxidation of the samples with temperature were observed. Thus, nanostructured pumice can be concluded to be an excellent natural thermally stable material with a large surface and mesoporous structure that would prove more promising than raw pumice in several industrial, economic, and nanotechnology applications, such as water purification and geopolymers.

Free-Standing Two-Dimensional Crystals Formed from Self-Assembled Ionic Liquids.

The fabrication of two-dimensional crystals (2DCs) has attracted very large interest because it creates materials with various surface structural features and special surface properties. Normally, this is limited to sheets networked together with strong covalent or coordination bonds. Against this understanding, we discovered macroscopic scale free-standing 2DCs in the aqueous dispersions of [Cnmim]X (X = Br, NO3; n = 14, 16, 18) using simultaneous synchrotron small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering techniques. On the other hand, the 2DCs are also a kind of novel hydrogel holding water content up to 98 wt %. This unusual phenomenon is attributed to the weak interactions between imidazole headgroups and counterions. The observation reported in this work is expected to contribute to theorists in their pursuit of the general principles governing the stability of 2D materials. It may also enlighten experimentalists in designing new free-standing 2DCs for various applications.

Insights of keratin geometry from agro-industrial wastes: A comparative computational and experimental assessment

Understanding the structural properties of keratin is of great importance to managing their potential application in keratin-inspired biomaterials and its management of wastes. In this work, the molecular structure of chicken feather keratin 1 was characterized by AlphaFold2 and quantum chemistry calculation. The predicted IR spectrum of the N-terminal region of feather keratin 1, consisting of 28 amino acid residues, was used to assign the Raman frequencies of the extracted keratin. The MW of experimental samples were 6 & 1 kDa while the predicted MW (∼10 kDa) of β-keratin. Experimental analysis shows the magnetic field treatment could affect the functional and surface structural properties of keratin. The particle size distribution curve illustrates the dispersion of particle size concentration, while TEM analysis demonstrates the reduction of particle diameter to 23.71 ± 1.1 nm following treatment. High-resolution XPS analysis confirmed the displacement of molecular elements from their orbital.

Theranostic applications of multifunctional carbon nanomaterials.

Nanobiotechnology is one of the leading research areas in biomedical science, developing rapidly worldwide. Among various types of nanoparticles, carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have attracted a great deal of attention from the scientific community, especially with respect to their prospective application in the field of disease diagnosis and therapy. The unique features of these nanomaterials, including favorable size, high surface area, and electrical, structural, optical, and chemical properties, have provided an excellent opportunity for their utilization in theranostic systems. Carbon nanotubes, carbon quantum dots, graphene, and fullerene are the most employed CNMs in biomedical fields. They have been considered safe and efficient for non-invasive diagnostic techniques such as fluorescence imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and biosensors. Various functionalized CNMs exhibit a great capacity to improve cell targeting of anti-cancer drugs. Due to their thermal properties, they have been extensively used in cancer photothermal and photodynamic therapy assisted by laser irradiation and CNMs. CNMs also can cross the blood-brain barrier and have the potential to treat various brain disorders, for instance, neurodegenerative diseases, by removing amyloid fibrils. This review has summarized and emphasized on biomedical application of CNMs and their recent advances in diagnosis and therapy.

Selective hydrogenation of detrimental 4-nitrophenol to desired 4-aminophenol over potent PtCo intermetallic nanoparticles entrapped within the pores of Cr-BDC MOFs

Engineering of economical and stabilized precious metal based catalysts are crucial in recent ages to achieve the desirable catalytic performance as they tend to destabilize easily. Herein, Cr-BDC MOF was prepared that provides high surface area and pore volumes to evenly distribute, host, and stabilize the Pt and Co intermetallic nanoparticles (IMNs). Among these, the PtCo/Cr-BDC catalyst showed superior selective hydrogenation activity for 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-Aminophenol (4-AP) as an exemplary reaction. A number of characterization techniques were carried out to study the influence of the Cr-BDC support and Co metal on the surface and bulk structural properties of active Pt metal species. The Cr-BDC support imparts uniform distributions while the Co metal species influenced the catalytic activity. The maximum conversion (99.3 %) of 4-NP to 4-AP was observed with PtCo/Cr-BDC in 2 min at a reaction rate constant (k) of 1.27 min−1 at room temperature, which is superior than Pt/Cr-BDC (0.64 min−1) and Co/Cr-BDC (0.14 min−1). The superior hydrogenation activity was credited to the addition of electropositive Co species to Pt/Cr-BDC catalyst that synergistically interacts with active Pt species within the pores of Cr-BDC MOFs and making PtCo IMNs system. As a result of this synergistic interaction, new additional interfacial electrophilic and nucleophilic metallic sites are generated within the pores of MOFs, which enormously encourage the selective hydrogenation of lethal 4-NP to valued 4-AP. Besides, the PtCo/Cr-BDC catalysts revealed remarkable durability up to several repeated rounds, validating its real-world applicability.