Reductive Conversion Research Articles

Reductive Transformation of CO2 to Organic Compounds.

Carbon dioxide is a major greenhouse gas and a safe, abundant, easily accessible, and renewable C1 resource that can be chemically converted into high value-added chemicals, fuels and materials. The preparation of urea, organic carbonates, salicylic acid, etc. from CO2 through non-reduction conversion has been used in industrial production, while CO2 reduction transformation has become a research hotspot in recent years due to its involvement in energy storage and product diversification. Designing suitable catalysts to achieve efficient and selective conversion of CO2 is crucial due to its thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness. From this perspective, the redistribution of charges within CO2 molecules through the interaction of Lewis acid/base or metal complexes with CO2, or the forced transfer of electrons to CO2 through photo- or electrocatalysis, is a commonly used effective way to activate CO2. Based on understanding of the activation/reaction mechanism on a molecular level, we have developed metal complexes, metal salts, inorganic/organic salts, ionic liquids, as well as nitrogen rich and porous materials as efficient catalysts for CO2 reductive conversions. The goal of this personal account is to summarize the catalytic processes of CO2 reductive conversion that have been developed in the past 7 years: 1) For the reductive functionalization of CO2, the major challenge lies in accurately adjusting reaction parameters (such as pressure) to achieve high catalytic efficiency and the product selectivity; 2) For photocatalytic or electrocatalytic reduction of CO2, how to suppress competitive hydrogen evolution reactions and improve catalyst stability are key points that requires continuous attention.

Chemoselective Preparation of Alkynes from Vicinal and Geminal Dibromoalkenes.

The reductive conversion of vicinal and geminal dibromoalkenes into the corresponding alkynes with iPrMgCl-LiCl (Turbo Grignard reagent) is described. This reaction proceeded in the presence of various functional groups such as ethers, esters, or carbamates under mild conditions in high yields. Due to the selective reactivity, the easily prepared vic-dibromoalkene is considered to be a protecting group of alkyne toward an electrophile. Although butyl lithium has been widely used for the conversion of gem-dibromoalkenes into alkynes in the Corey-Fuchs alkyne synthesis, we report here alternative mild and chemoselective reaction conditions for alkyne synthesis.

Kinetic Analysis of Molten Oxide Reduction Using Bottom-Blown Hydrogen Injection

Hydrogen-based smelting reduction has received widespread attention as an important technology for realizing low-carbon development in hydrogen metallurgy. In this study, the thermodynamics of smelting reduction was firstly analyzed by using FactSage 8.1 thermodynamic software, on the basis of which smelting reduction experiments of iron oxides by using bottom-blown hydrogen were carried out. The experiments used oxidized pellets as experimental materials, and the effects of the reduction process were analyzed in terms of the reduction temperature, the reduction time, and the hydrogen flow rate. The experimental results show that under the experimental conditions of a temperature of 1550 °C and a hydrogen flow rate of 0.2 Nm3/h, the reduction rate of iron oxides in the process of reducing iron oxides by hydrogen is significantly faster in the first 10 min than after 10 min. The hydrogen utilization rate reached a maximum of 41.87%, then decreased continuously and finally maintained at about 20%. Using the method of model fitting, it was found that the hydrogen-based molten reduction conformed to the phase boundary reaction model (Gα=1−(1−α)1/2), the corresponding mechanism function is fα=2(1−α)1/2, where α stands for the reduction conversion, and the reaction rate constant k(T) is 2.37 × 10−4 s−1 under the experimental conditions.

Dual‐Metal Sites Drive Tandem Electrocatalytic CO2 to C2+ Products

AbstractThe electrochemical conversion of CO2 into valuable chemicals is a promising route for renowable energy storage and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emission, and production of multicarbon (C2+) products is highly desired. Here, we report a 1.4 %Pd−Cu@CuPz2 comprising of dispersive CuOx and PdO dual nanoclusters embedded in the MOF CuPz2 (Pz=Pyrazole), which achieves a high C2+ Faradaic efficiency (FEC2+) of 81.9 % and C2+ alcohol FE of 47.5 % with remarkable stability when using 0.1 M KCl aqueous solution as electrolyte in a typical H‐cell. Particularly, the FE of alcohol is obviously improved on 1.4 %Pd−Cu@CuPz2 compared to Cu@CuPz2. Theoretical calculations have revealed that the enhanced interfacial electron transfer facilitates the adsorption of *CO intermediate and *CO−*CO dimerization on the Cu−Pd dual sites bridged by Cu nodes of CuPz2. Additionally, the oxophilicity of Pd can stabilize the key intermediate *CH2CHO and promote subsequent proton‐coupled electron transfer more efficiently, confirming that the formation pathway is skew towards *C2H5OH. Consequently, the Cu−Pd dual sites play a synergistic tandem role in cooperatively improving the selectivity of alcohol and accelerating reductive conversion of CO2 to C2+.

Dual-Metal Sites Drive Tandem Electrocatalytic CO2 to C2+ Products.

The electrochemical conversion of CO2 into valuable chemicals is a promising route for renowable energy storage and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emission, and production of multicarbon (C2+) products is highly desired. Here, we report a 1.4 %Pd-Cu@CuPz2 comprising of dispersive CuOx and PdO dual nanoclusters embedded in the MOF CuPz2 (Pz=Pyrazole), which achieves a high C2+ Faradaic efficiency (FEC2+) of 81.9 % and C2+ alcohol FE of 47.5 % with remarkable stability when using 0.1 M KCl aqueous solution as electrolyte in a typical H-cell. Particularly, the FE of alcohol is obviously improved on 1.4 %Pd-Cu@CuPz2 compared to Cu@CuPz2. Theoretical calculations have revealed that the enhanced interfacial electron transfer facilitates the adsorption of *CO intermediate and *CO-*CO dimerization on the Cu-Pd dual sites bridged by Cu nodes of CuPz2. Additionally, the oxophilicity of Pd can stabilize the key intermediate *CH2CHO and promote subsequent proton-coupled electron transfer more efficiently, confirming that the formation pathway is skew towards *C2H5OH. Consequently, the Cu-Pd dual sites play a synergistic tandem role in cooperatively improving the selectivity of alcohol and accelerating reductive conversion of CO2 to C2+.

Facile fabrication of NF-loaded Co3O4 monolithic catalyst and its application in the reduction of P-nitrophenol

In this work, a foam nickel-loaded Co3O4 nanosheet featuring an integral structure (NF@Co3O4) was successfully fabricated by a facile hydrothermal-calcination strategy. The catalytic performance of the NF@Co3O4 was evaluated using the reduction of P-nitrophenol (PNP) to P-aminophenol (PAP) under NaBH4 as a model reaction. A reduction rate of 94.44% for PNP was achieved under the following reaction parameters over 25 min at 25∘C: two slices of NF@Co3O4 monolithic catalysts (3 × 4 cm2), a PNP concentration of 15 mg L[Formula: see text] (500 mL), and a NaBH4 dosage of 15 mmol L[Formula: see text]. Moreover, NF@Co3O4 presented a stable performance in PNP reduction, maintaining a reductive conversion above 91% over sixteen consecutive runs. This study suggested that NF-loaded Co3O4 is a promising monolithic catalyst for the treatment of phenol-containing wastewater, owe to its superb catalytic performance and ease of recovery.

Selective reductive conversion of CO2 to CH2-bridged compounds by using a Fe-functionalized graphene oxide-based catalyst

Anthropogenic climate change drastically affects our planet, with CO2 being the most critical gaseous driver. Despite the existing carbon dioxide capture and transformation, there is much need for innovative carbon dioxide hydrogenation catalysts with excellent selectivity. Here, we present a fast, effective, and sustainable route for coupling diverse alcohols, amines and amides with CO2 via heterogenization of a natural metal-based homogeneous catalyst through decorating on functionalized graphene oxide (GO). Combined synthetic, experimental, and theoretical studies unravel mechanistic routes to convergent 4‑electron reduction of CO2 under mild conditions. We successfully replace the toxic and expensive ruthenium species with inexpensive, ubiquitously available and recyclable iron. This iron-based functionalized graphene oxide (denoted as Fe@GO-EDA, where EDA represents ethylenediamine) functions as an efficient catalyst for the selective conversion of CO2 into a formaldehyde oxidation level, thus opening the door for interesting molecular structures using CO2 as a C1 source. Overall, this work describes an intriguing heterogeneous platform for the selective synthesis of valuable methylene-bridged compounds via 4‑electron reduction of CO2.

Acid-catalyzed Transformation of Nitrite to Nitric Oxide on Copper(II)-Cobalt(II) Centers in a Bimetallic Complex.

Nitrite (NO2 -) serves as a pool of nitric oxide (NO) in biological systems under hypoxic conditions, and it is transformed to NO by nitrite reductase (NiR) enzyme in the presence of acid (H+ ions). However, NO synthases (NOSs) generate NO via L-arginine oxidation in normoxic conditions. Previously, acid-induced NO2 - reduction chemistry was modeled on mono-metallic 3d-metals, generating metal-nitrosyls or NO(g) with H2O or H2O2 products. Herein, to understand the relative potency of a bimetallic system, we report the acid-induced reductive conversion of η2-bound NO2 - to NO on CuII-CoII centers of a hetero-bimetallic CuII-nitrito-CoII complex, [(LN8H)CuII-NO2 --CoII]3+ (CuII-NO2 --CoII, 2) bearing an octadentate N8-cryptand ligand (LN8H). The CuII-NO2 --CoII generates [CuII(LN8H)CoII]4+ (1) upon reaction with one equiv. acid (HClO4, H+ ions source) with NO(g) via a presumed transient nitrousacid (ONOH) intermediate species. Likewise, this NO2 - reduction was found to form H2O, which is believed to be from the decomposition of H2O2, an intermediate species. In addition, complex 2, in the presence of more than one equiv. H+ ions also showed the formation of NO(g) with H2O. Mechanistic investigations, using 15N-labeled-15NO2 -, 18O-labeled-18O14N16O- and 2H-labeled-DClO4 (D+ source), revealed that the N-atom and O-atom in the 14/15NO and 14N18O gases are derived from NO2 - ligand and H-atom in H2O derived from H+-source, respectively.

Surface plasmon resonance effect cooperated with Z-scheme heterostructure for enhancing photocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia

The photocatalytic efficiency can be improved by constructing a Z-scheme heterojunction, but hindered by the only half utilization efficiency of photogenerated carriers. Thus, a novel material, UiO-66-NH2@TAPB-BTCA-COP-Ag (U6N@COP-Ag), with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect synergistic Z-scheme heterostructure has been prepared by depositing Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on TAPB-BTCA-COP (COP)-coated UiO-66-NH2. The deposited Ag NPs expand the range of light absorption and introduce more photogenerated electrons in the composite. The SPR effect of noble metal compensates for the limited utilization of the Z-scheme heterojunction photogenerated carriers and the increased density of semiconductor carriers at the reducing end, which is more conducive to the redox reaction of the catalyst. Without sacrificial agents, U6N@COP-Ag shows great photocatalytic nitrogen reduction conversion efficiency with the rate of NH4+ in ammonia water at 167.63μmol g-1h−1, which is 6.6 and 2.8 times that of the original UiO-66-NH2 and COP, respectively. In-situ XPS and Kelvin probe technology verify that UiO-66-NH2 and Ag nanoparticles provide more photogenerated electrons to COP. The cleavage and conversion of N2 to NH4+ on U6N@COP-Ag was confirmed by the enhancement of NH bonds and NH4+ characteristic absorption peaks in the in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in-situ DRIFTS). This work presents a great method to improve the Z-scheme heterojunction photogenerated carrier utilization and the density of semiconductor carriers at the reducing end by the noble metal SPR effect, which is more conducive to enhance the redox reaction of the catalyst.

Constructing the Electron-Rich Microenvironment of an All-Polymer-Based S-Scheme Homostructure for Accelerating Uranium Capture from Nuclear Wastewater.

Large quantities of uranium-containing radioactive wastewater are typically generated during nuclear fuel cycle processes. Despite significant efforts, efficient capture of migratable hexavalent uranium U(VI) is still a huge challenge due to its acidity, radioactivity, coexisting organics, and high impurity cation abundance in wastewater. Herein, we have fabricated all-polymer-based 0D/2D C4N/C6N7 homostructure hybrids with an S-scheme electronic configuration by coordinating the band engineering of semiconductors to enrich uranium species from the complex wastewater environment. The sample can capture over 97% of U(VI) in the actual concentration of nuclear industrial reprocessing wastewater; also, the U(VI) enrichment ratio still exceeds 95% when the irradiation dose (including α, β, and γ) is up to 100 kGy. Density functional theory and X-ray absorption spectroscopy demonstrate that the aggregation of charge carriers on the surface of the sample regulates the electron-rich microenvironment, thus accelerating the reduction conversion of single electron reaction uranium disproportionation. It is expected that this work can provide more insight into other functional materials, thereby promoting uranium removal advancements in nuclear wastewater.

A new route to the crinane skeleton via the low-valent titanium-mediated double reduction of cyclic sulfonamides

The construction of a benzo-fused tetracyclic sulfonamide, followed by its low-valent titanium-based reduction and subsequent conversion to racemic crinane is reported. The synthesis of the tetracyclic sulfonamide features a sulfonyl templated, regio- and diastereoselective intramolecular Heck reaction, which installs an all-carbon quaternary centre. Thereafter, a low-valent titanium reduction removes the sulfonyl group, liberating a 3-aryloctahydroindole. A Pictet-Spengler reaction then generates the targeted ethano-bridged phenanthridine core structure of the crinan alkaloids.

Photocatalytic Reductive Azaarenylation of Cyclopropanes via Consecutive Photo‐induced Electron Transfer: A Facile Route to α‐Quaternary Azaarenes†

Comprehensive Summaryα‐Azaarene quaternary carbon centers are prevalent in drug molecules, making the development of efficient synthetic approaches of great interest. Herein, we describe an unprecedented method for constructing α‐all‐carbon quaternary carbon‐centered azaarenes by employing photocatalytic reductive coupling of various 2,2‐disubstituted cycloproarylketones with readily available cyanoazaarenes. The reaction proceeds with high efficiency, displaying excellent compatibility with various functional groups and demonstrating high chemo‐ and regioselectivity. Mechanistic investigations suggest that consecutive photo‐induced electron transfer (ConPET) plays a crucial role in the formation of photocatalyst with greater reducing capability, ultimately enabling the direct reductive conversion of unreactive π‐bonds under mild and transition‐metal‐free conditions.

Metal edge confined platinum atoms in metal/hydroxide hierarchy structure for multiple hydrogen conversion and evolution

Single-atom catalysts (SACs), as a thriving subfield of catalysis, have progressed tremendously. However, the contradiction between the isolated dispersion feature of metal sites and the high mass-specific activity of the catalyst inhibits the advances of the SACs. Herein, the Pt atoms are confined at the metallic Co phase edge in two-dimensional Co/Co(OH)2 hierarchy structure (PtSA-Co@Co-Co(OH)2) by the defect inducted order electrodeposition strategy. Both integrations of in-situ/ex-situ experimental characterizations and theoretical calculation reveal that such metal edge confined Pt atoms possess an enlarged atom exposure ratio, high stability, and the like-metal electronic state contributed by metal Co 3d, which enables the Pt atoms with more suitable affinity to simultaneously bind the multiple H atoms for durable H*-H2 conversion and H2 evolution. Moreover, the metallic PtSA-Co collaborated Co/Co(OH)2 interfaces demonstrate a strong H2O dissociation capacity by the preference adsorption of H* on metallic PtSA-Co and OH*on Co/Co(OH)2 interfaces. Combining a further enhancement of constructing the catalysts on an Ag nanowire network to form a seamlessly conductive nanostructure, the PtSA-Co@Co-Co(OH)2 achieves a high mass activity with 5.92 A mg−1 at the overpotential of 100 mV in alkaline condition, 37 times to that of the benchmark Pt/C catalyst and significantly outperforming the reported catalysts. While our work has focused on the hydrogen evolution reaction, this class of metal edge collaborated single-atom catalysts may be conducive to unlock the low mass-specific activity of atomically dispersed catalysts for various processes, such as oxygen evolution reactions (OER), CO2 reduction, and biomass conversion, etc.

Research on the Effective Sheltering Rates of Public Buildings in Villages in Western Sichuan, China—A Case Study of Ganbao Tibetan Village

The western region of Sichuan Province, located in the Hengduan Mountains, is one of China’s most seismically active zones. Due to limited land resources, many villages in western Sichuan Province are situated in mountainous and valley areas, facing harsh climatic conditions, lagging economic development, and insufficient infrastructure. After experiencing seismic disasters, these villages often encounter challenges, such as cut-off mountain roads, difficulties in delivering relief supplies, and sharply a significant drop in nighttime temperatures due to the high-altitude climate. Consequently, in the case of the economic underdevelopment and limited resources, how to repurpose existing buildings for disaster relief has become a crucial issue for disaster prevention and mitigation in these villages. This paper takes Ganbao Tibetan Village, located in the alpine gorge regions of western Sichuan Province, as a case study. It evaluates the interior space utilization status of different types of existing public buildings during disasters, calculates the effective utilization rate of interior space disaster reduction conversion based on the spatial layout model, and extracts the typical interior space dimensions that are conducive to disaster relief and conversion of public buildings based on the interior space utilization characteristics of disaster relief. This study provides a reference for the design of public service buildings considering the requirements of disaster resilience transformation.

Well-defined high entropy-metal nanoparticles: Detection of the multi-element particles by deep learning

Characterizing and control the chemical compositions of multi-element particles as single metal nanoparticles (mNPs) on the surfaces of catalytic metal oxide supports is challenging. This can be attributed to the heterogeneity and large size at the nanoscale, the poorly defined catalyst nanostructure, and thermodynamic immiscibility of the strongly repelling metallic elements. To address these challenges, an ultrasonic-assisted coincident electro-oxidation-reduction-precipitation (U-SEO-P) is presented to fabricate ultra-stable PtRuAgCoCuP NPs, which produces numerous active intermediates and induces strong metal-support interactions. To sort the active high-entropy mNPs, individual NPs are described on the support surface and the role of deep learning in understanding/predicting the features of PtRuAgCoCu@TiOx catalysts is explained. Notably, this deep learning approach required minimal to no human input. The as-prepared PtRuAgCoCu@TiOx catalysts can be used to catalyze various important chemical reactions, such as a high reduction conversion (100% in 30 s), with no loss of catalytic activity even after 20 cycles of nitroarene and ketone/aldehyde, which is several times higher than commercial Pt@TiOx owing to individual PtRuAgCoCuP NPs on TiOx surface. In this study, we present the “Totally Defined Catalysis” concept, which has enormous potential for the advancement of high-activity catalysts in the reduction of organic compounds.

KOH-activated hollow carbon spheres with surface functionalization for high-capacity and long-cycle-life lithium-selenium batteries

Lithium-selenium (Li-Se) batteries are considered promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries due to their higher volumetric capacity and energy density. However, they still face limitations in efficiently utilizing the active selenium. Here, we develop surface-functionalized mesoporous hollow carbon nanospheres as the selenium host. By using KOH activation, the surface of the carbon nanospheres is functionalized with hydroxyl groups, which greatly improve the utilization of selenium and facilitate the conversion of lithium selenides, leading to much higher capacities compared to ZnCl2 activation and untreated carbon nanospheres. Theory and experimental evidence suggest that surface hydroxyl groups can enhance the reduction conversion of polyselenides to selenides and facilitate the oxidation reaction of selenides to elemental selenium. In-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques provided additional confirmation of the hydroxyl groups electrochemical durability in catalyzing selenium conversion. The meticulously engineered Se cathode demonstrates a high specific capacity of 594 mA h g−1 at 0.5C, excellent rate capability of 464 mA h g−1 at 2C, and a stable cycling performance of 500 cycles at 2C with a capacity retention of 84.8 %, corresponding to an ultra-low-capacity decay rate of 0.0144 % per cycle, surpassing many reported lithium-selenium battery technologies.

Coordination Microenvironment Regulation in Carbon−Based Atomically Dispersed Metal Catalysts for Clean Energy−Conversion

AbstractEmerging atomically dispersed metal catalysts (ADCs), especially carbon−based ADCs have arguably received enormous attention in diverse electrochemical energy conversion processes. Such catalysts have well−defined active centers, and their geometric and electronic structures depend greatly on their coordination microenvironments, which, in turn, govern the performances in the realm of electrocatalysis. In this review, it is focused on the state−of−the−art synthesis strategies for carbon−based ADCs, with particular emphasis on their microenvironment modulations. The advances in characterizing the microenvironment alongside understanding the synthetic pathway are outlined, and exemplified in electrochemical applications, including electrocatalytic H2 evolution, O2 evolution/reduction, CO2 reduction, and Li polysulfides conversion reactions. Rather than focusing on the catalysis metrics, this review delved deeply into the underly science and the associated reaction mechanisms of these catalysts in diverse electrochemical systems. The fundamental impacts of the microenvironments of the catalysts on electrocatalytic activities, selectivities, and stabilities are discussed. In the end, it is concluded by highlighting the current issues of the microenvironment engineering of these carbon−based ADCs and propose the prospects for future opportunities and challenges.

Enhancing reductive conversion of levulinic acid and levulinates to γ-valerolactone: Role of oxygen vacancy in MnOx catalysts

Oxygen vacancies (Ov) in metal oxides play a crucial role in modifying the electronic and acidic properties of catalysts, thereby influencing their catalytic activity. This study explores the impact of Ov in MnOx catalysts on their acidic and catalytic properties for the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley reduction of levulinic acid (LA) and levulinate to γ-valerolactone (GVL). Various characterization techniques demonstrate that surface Ov significantly modulate the acidic properties of MnOx catalysts, positively correlating with Lewis/Brønsted acid ratio and GVL yield. In situ DRIFTS and DFT calculations further unveil the reaction mechanism, revealing that Ov facilitate the activation and dehydrogenation of isopropanol and subsequent hydrogen transfer and hydrogenation of LA, leading to enhanced GVL production. These insights underscore the pivotal role of Ov in MnOx catalysts for the efficient conversion of LA to GVL, highlighting their importance in improving catalytic performance.

In-situ constructing an innovative and versatile nanotraps for incorporation of zero–valent iron nanoparticles into zeolite imidazole framework–8 towards high efficient detoxification and imprisonment of U(VI) and Se(IV) from water via a combination study of capture performance and underlying mechanism aspects

This work reported an in-situ constructing of innovative and versatile nanotraps (NZVI/ZIF–8) namely incorporation of zero–valent iron nanoparticles (NZVI) into zeolite imidazole framework–8 (ZIF–8), and the application of the as-constructed NZVI/ZIF–8 in high efficient detoxification and imprisonment of U(VI) and Se(IV) from wastewater. The results demonstrated that controllable incorporation of NZVI with ZIF–8 used advantages of each component to generate an emphatic boosted interaction in U(VI)/Se(IV) imprisoning. The kinetic adsorption for U(VI)/Se(IV) imprisoned onto NZVI/ZIF–8 was described by pseudo-second-order model well, and the adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model better. Thermodynamic analysis (ΔG < 0, ΔS > 0, ΔH > 0) demonstrated that U(VI)/Se(IV) imprisoned onto NZVI/ZIF–8 was endothermic and spontaneous. XPS measurements unveiled that NZVI/ZIF–8 imprisoned U(VI)/Se(IV) by synergistic mechanism of adsorption and reduction. The N–containing functional groups on ZIF–8 was primarily responsible for adsorption, while Fe(0) and surface enriched Fe(II) from NZVI predominantly contributed to reductive conversion of U(VI)/Se(IV) into U(IV)/Se(0). In a word, ZIF-8 played an important role in imprisonment of U(VI)/Se(IV) onto the as-constructed NZVI/ZIF–8 nanotraps with intensified reactivity in comparison with naked NZVI. The findings revealed that the NZVI/ZIF–8 nanotraps would be superb scavengers towards U(VI)/Se(IV), and implied a bright future in potential application in nuclear waste management.

Modification of new magnetic nanocomposites Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 and its excellent catalytic reduction for toxic nitroaromatic compounds and chromium (VI)

New magnetic Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 nanocomposites were synthesized using hydrothermal method. The specific features of Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 nanocomposites were studied using various analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and N2 adsorption desorption analyses, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The BET analysis demonstrates that embedded CuFe2O4 nanoparticles in Bi2WO6 structure have increased the pore diameters and surface area for better adsorption of NaBH4 and catalytic performance. The VSM analysis confirms the magnetic behavior of nanocomposite which showed that Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 could be separated and recoverd easily by an external magnet after catalytic reactions. The catalytic performance of nanocomposites was investigated for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds including 4-nitroaniline (4-NA), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), 2-nitroaniline (2-NA) and 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) and chromium (VI) in aqueous solution. The results show the nanocomposites have excellent ability to reduces Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and nitroaromatic compounds to the corresponding amines in green water solution at room temperature. The best performance observed for the 100% conversion of 4-nitrophenol reduction belongs to Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 20%, which completes in 6 min, and its rate constant is about 0.67 min−1. In addition, the Bi2WO6/CuFe2O4 nanocomposite can be appropriately recycled and reused several times without changing its structure and activity, which is essential for practical applications.