Ionothermal synthesis of magnetic N-doped porous carbon to immobilize Pd nanoparticles as an efficient nanocatalyst for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds

Abstract

Carbon materials play important roles as catalysts or catalyst supports for reduction reactions owing to their high porosity, large specific surface area, great electron conductivity, and excellent chemical stability. In this paper, a mesoporous N-doped carbon substrate (exhibited as N–C) has been synthesized by ionothermal carbonization of glucose in the presence of histidine. The N–C substrate was modified by Fe3O4 nanoparticles (N–C/Fe3O4), and then Pd nanoparticles were stabilized on the magnetic substrate to synthesize an eco-friendly Pd catalyst with high efficiency, magnetic, reusability, recoverability, and great stability. To characterize the Pd/Fe3O4–N–C nanocatalyst, different microscopic and spectroscopic methods such as FT-IR, XRD, SEM/EDX, and TEM were applied. Moreover, Pd/Fe3O4–N–C showed high catalytic activity in reducing nitroaromatic compounds in water at ambient temperatures when NaBH4 was used as a reducing agent. The provided nanocatalyst's great catalytic durability and power can be attributed to the synergetic interaction among well-dispersed Pd nanoparticles and N-doped carbonaceous support.