Hierarchically macro-mesoporous flowerlike Pt/NiO composite microspheres for efficient formaldehyde oxidation at room temperature

Abstract

Hierarchically macro-mesoporous flowerlike NiO microspheres (NiO-F) were first prepared by a hydrothermal method using Ni(NO₃)₂ and ethylenediamine as the precursors, and then Pt nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited onto the surface of NiO-F to obtain the Pt/NiO-F composite catalyst by a NaBH₄ reduction method. The prepared Pt/NiO-F sample was used for oxidative decomposition of formaldehyde (HCHO) at room temperature. The results indicate that the Pt/NiO-F composite catalyst shows higher catalytic activity than the Pt/NiO catalyst using NiO particles as the support (Pt/NiO-P), which is due to its high surface area, high-dispersion and accessible Pt NPs as well as hierarchically macro-mesoporous structure facilitating diffusion of reactants and products. The Pt/NiO-F catalyst also exhibited good catalytic stability in recycled experiments. This work may contribute to the development of high-performance catalysts for indoor air purification and related catalytic processes.