Palladium nanoflowers supported on amino-fullerene as novel catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

In this study, we report the synthesis of novel palladium nanoflowers (Pd NFs) on amino-functionalized fullerene (C-60-NH2) by hydrothermal self-assembly growth using ethylenediamine (EA) as a functional reagent. The successful formation of Pd nanoflowers supported amino-functionalized fullerene (C-60-NH2/Pd NFs) is evidenced by UV-vis and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The morphology of Pd NFs over the C-60-NH2 surface has been investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The supported Pd nanoflowers (Pd NFs/C-60-NH2) exhibit remarkably superior catalytic activity toward the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). It exhibits remarkable UV-vis spectra response from 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) (99% in 2.0 min) with a turnover frequency of 12.35 min(-1). Its excellent catalytic stability and durability offer the promising application in catalysis. (C) 2019 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.