Issue 22, 2016

Synthesis and characterization of a multifunctional nanocatalyst based on a novel type of binary-metal-oxide-coated Fe3O4–Au nanoparticle

Abstract

A novel type of binary-metal-oxide-coated Au nanocatalyst, including a mixed oxide layer, a moveable magnetic Fe3O4 core and some Au NPs of 2–5 nm, has been synthesized successfully by a facile hydrothermal synthesis method. SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, and TGA were employed to characterize the prepared samples. The results showed the mSiO2–TiO2 layer could increase the thermal stability and reactivity of metal nanocatalysts compared to a pure TiO2 or SiO2 layer. The reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) was employed as a model reaction to test catalytic performance in this work. The results showed that the binary-metal-oxide-coated nanocatalyst (550 °C) exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic performance compared with the pure SiO2 (550 °C) or TiO2 (550 °C). In particular, the mSiO2–TiO2/Au/C/Fe3O4 particles calcined at 550 °C showed the highest catalytic activity, compared to the samples calcined at 700 °C, 300 °C and RT. Meanwhile, because of C layer burning, the sample presented a few white spots between the Fe3O4 microsphere and the oxide layer, suggesting that the specific surface area was increased by calcination. The sample (550 °C) still has a certain degree of magnetism, suggesting the desired samples could be separated by magnet. Finally, to explain the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP), a possible reaction mechanism was also proposed.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis and characterization of a multifunctional nanocatalyst based on a novel type of binary-metal-oxide-coated Fe3O4–Au nanoparticle

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Dec 2015
Accepted
31 Jan 2016
First published
01 Feb 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 18685-18694

Synthesis and characterization of a multifunctional nanocatalyst based on a novel type of binary-metal-oxide-coated Fe3O4–Au nanoparticle

H. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Y. Zhou, C. Zhang, Q. Wang, Y. Xu and M. Zhang, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 18685 DOI: 10.1039/C5RA27136C

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