Synergistic Effects of Gold-Palladium Nanoalloys and Reducible Supports on the Catalytic Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol

Ndzondelelo Bingwa, Rapelang Patala, Ji Hyang Noh, Matumuene J. Ndolomingo, Siyamthanda Tetyana, Semakaleng Bewana, Reinout Meijboom

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Herein we report on the catalytic activity of mesoporous nickel, iron, cerium, cobalt, and manganese oxides prepared using KIT-6 as a hard template via evaporation-assisted precipitation. The mesoporous metal oxides (MMOs) were characterized and used as heterogeneous catalysts in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-Nip) by sodium borohydride (BH4-). Furthermore, polyamidoamide (PAMAM) dendrimers were used to synthesize gold-palladium nanoalloy particles. The size of AuPd/PAMAM was found to be 3.5 ± 0.8 nm in diameter before being immobilized on the aforementioned mesoporous metal oxides and used as catalysts in the reduction of 4-Nip. Prior to catalytic evaluation, the reduction profiles of the mesoporous metal oxides were investigated by hydrogen-temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and showed that mesoporous metal oxides can be easily reduced at lower temperatures and that the immobilization of gold-palladium nanoalloy particles lowers their reduction temperatures. Mesoporous cobalt and manganese oxides showed catalytic activity toward 4-Nip reduction, and the activity was enhanced after immobilization of the gold-palladium nanoalloys. Isolation of nanoparticles activity was achieved by immobilization of the gold-palladium nanoalloys on the inert silica support. From this we postulated an electron relay mechanism for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. With the use of power rate law we showed that 4-Nip reduction follows pseudo-first-order kinetics.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7086-7095
Number of pages10
JournalLangmuir
Volume33
Issue number28
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Jul 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces and Interfaces
  • Spectroscopy
  • Electrochemistry

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