Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zirconium Phosphide@rGO Composites and Efficient Reduction for Nitric Oxide

The composites of zirconium phosphide with graphene (ZrP@rGO) were synthesized via a hydrothermal process with zirconium phosphide (ZrP) and graphene oxide (GO) as raw materials, and characterized by XRD, SEM, N-2-adsorption-desorption and TEM measurements. The obtained ZrP@rGO composites were found to exhibit apparent activity in the elimination of nitric oxide (NO) via facile redox reactions, and the elimination dynamics was evaluated within the context of various important experimental parameters, such as reaction temperature and ammonia gas concentration. At a fixed amount of ZrP@rGO composites, an increasing amount of NO would be eliminated with increasing reaction temperature, and complete conversion of NO to N-2 could be reached in the range of 650 to 800 degrees C. The addition of NH3 also facilitated NO elimination at a fixed reaction temperature. Furthermore, as of the products of the elimination reaction, zirconia (ZrO2) powders are biocompatible material, red phosphorus can be used as chemical material, and the N-2 might be collected and used as a protective gas or other purposes.