Surface Roughness Effects of Pd‐loaded Magnetic Microspheres on Reduction Kinetics of Nitroaromatics

• Published in: Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society 2021, 42(6), , pp.894-899
• Main Authors: An, Seonghwi, Manivannan, Shanmugam, Viji, Mayavan, Shim, Min Suk, Hwang, Byeong Hee, Kim, Kyuwon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Hematite; Interfaces of catalysts; Palladium; Prussian blue; p‐nitrophenol; 화학
• ISSN: 1229-5949; 0253-2964; 1229-5949
• DOI: 10.1002/bkcs.12284

Metal nanoparticles decoration on magnetically active semiconductor materials is a common strategy to improve the colloidal stability, catalyst harvesting, and reuse. In this study, a surfactant‐free solvothermal method followed by a heat treatment to prepare highly surface roughened α‐Fe2O3 (Hematite)/Pd microspheres (MSPs) is reported. Amine‐functionalized silicate sol‐gel matrix is used as a stabilizing agent for the solvothermal synthesis of Prussian blue (PB) MSPs using HCl at 80 °C for 20 h. It is observed that modulating HCl concentration in a medium led to a high degree of improvement in surface roughness. Employing heat treatment at 350 °C for 6 h, PB MSPs are transformed into α‐Fe2O3, Hematite phase. Fabricated Hematite/Pd MSPs have shown high catalytic reduction activity over p‐nitrophenol. Reduction kinetics of nitroaromatics is monitored using UV‐vis absorption spectroscopy and product formation is confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR analyses. Simple, low‐toxic and low‐cost method of making the highly surface roughened Hematite MSps with a deeper three‐dimensional feature. High surface roughened Hematite loaded Pd NPs was found more feasible for catalysis. ​