Efficient catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol by magnetic Cu/Fe nanocomposite catalyst

This study reported the preparation of the magnetic Cu/Fe nanocomposite catalyst by co-precipitation method and its catalytic performance was examined for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating-sample magnetometer. The characterization indicated that the fabricated catalyst was spherical nanoparticles with porous structures and owned good magnetism in the aqueous solution. The nanocomposite of Cu:Fe = 1.5 had higher catalytic performance, and 95% of 4-NP could be catalytically reduced to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) with 15 min at 55??C. The catalytic conversion rate can reach 80% in the 4th cycle. The catalytic performance of consecutive cycles showed high activity and stability of the catalyst. All the results indicate that the magnetic Fe/Cu nanocomposite catalyst is a promising catalyst in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol.