Magnetic polyaniline-chitosan nanocomposite decorated with palladium nanoparticles for enhanced catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

In this article, palladium (Pd) nanoparticles were deposited on a smart surface composed of a synthetic polymer, a natural polymer and a magnetic inorganic material, polyaniline (PANI), chitosan (CS) and magnetite (Fe3O4), respectively to form Pd@PANI-CS-Fe3O4 nanocomposite. The parent magnetic nanocomposite was prepared via in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of CS. Exploitation of the polymerization side product, ferrous chloride (FeCl2), produced Fe3O4 that imparted the nanocomposite with magnetic character. Pd nanoparticles were then stabilized @ the nanocomposite via reduction of Pd ions. X-ray electron diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) as well as energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were employed to characterize Pd@PANI-CS-Fe3O4 nanocomposite. In addition, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) was used to investigate the magnetic property of Pd@PANI-CS-Fe3O4 nanocomposite. The reduction of the toxic 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to a safer form, 4-amino phenol (4-AP), was employed to examine the catalytic efficacy of Pd@PANI-CS-Fe3O4 nanocomposite as a heterogenous nanocatalyst. Pd@PANI-CS-Fe3O4 represented a high kinetic rate up to 0.222 min(-1). (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.