The new identity of cellulose pulp: A green silver nanoparticles support for highly efficient catalytic hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2022-06, Vol.355, p.131833, Article 131833
• Main Authors: Xiao, Wei-Dong, Xiao, Ling-Ping, Xiao, Wen-Zhe, Wang, Qiang, Zhai, Shang-Ru, Sun, Run-Cang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 4-Nitrophenol hydrogenation; Cellulose; Continuous-flow reaction; Pulp; Silver nanoparticles; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.131833

The uniquely interconvertible transformation of cellulose pulp and paper shows great potential as smart materials for environment remediation. However, performing liquid-phase catalytic reactions involving hydrogenation steps under mild conditions and ambient temperature remains challenging. Herein, we report a facile and eco-friendly strategy to fabricate low-cost, highly effective, and stable pulp-supported silver nanoparticles (AgNPs/pulp). The pulp phase is used to maintain the high catalytic efficiency of the AgNPs/pulp catalyst, while the paper phase remains high stability as the filling material in the reaction column. The as-prepared AgNPs/pulp catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity toward NaBH4-mediated reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) with a turnover frequency of 605.1 h−1 and a k value of 24.9 × 10−3 s−1 at room temperature, which outperforms most of reported cellulose-supported catalysts. Impressively, the AgNPs/pulp catalyst shows outstanding durability during a continuous operation for 72 h. Such excellent performance can be attributed to the uniform dispersion of the AgNPs/pulp in solution and uniform distribution of Ag NPs on the fiber surface of cotton pulp, which greatly improve the accessibility of reactants and active sites as well as metal-support interactions. This work provides new insights into the understanding of catalytic hydrogenation of 4-NP, which could pave the way for rational design of novel cellulose-based catalysts for organic wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] •Transformation of cellulose pulp and paper shows great potential as smart materials.•Cellulose pulp exhibits as a green Ag NPs support for 4-nitrophenol reduction.•AgNPs/pulp catalyst shows outstanding durability during a continuous reaction.•The catalytic activity outperforms most of traditional cellulose-supported catalysts.•Uniform dispersion of Ag NPs improves enhanced catalytic efficiency and durability.