Cobalt Nanoparticles Supported on Reduced Amine-Functionalized Graphene Oxide for Catalytic Reduction of Nitroanilines and Organic Dyes

The fabricated cobalt nanoparticles supported on reduced amine-functionalized graphene oxide have been fabricated through the reduction of Co2+ and GO-NH2 by using sodium borohydride. The obtained Co@RGO-NH2 nanocatalyst possesses an excellent catalytic activity and a high magnetic property. The as-fabricated Co@RGO-NH2 nanocatalyst was efficiently used for the catalytic reduction of different substituted nitro anilines pollutants (o-nitroaniline, m-nitroaniline and p-nitroaniline) as well as the degradation of cationic methylene blue and anionic Congo red dyes. In our study, a simple strategy to fabricate an efficient cobalt-based nanocatalyst is reported. The as-fabricated cobalt nanoparticles (Co NPs) that supported on reduced amine-functionalized graphene oxide (Co@RGO-NH2) have been fabricated through reduction of Co2+ and GO-NH2 by sodium borohydride under mild conditions. The morphology, elemental analysis, chemical composition, surface area and magnetic property of the as-fabricated Co@RGO-NH2 nanocatalyst have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. Characterization showed that Co@RGO-NH2 nanocatalyst possesses a high surface area (232.05 m(2)/g) and good magnetic property. Obviously, the as-fabricated Co@RGO-NH2 nanocatalyst exhibited a fascinating catalytic activity towards the catalytic reduction of different substituted nitro anilines pollutants (o-nitroaniline, m-nitroaniline and p-nitroaniline), as well as, the degradation of cationic methylene blue and anionic Congo red dyes. Furthermore, the reused Co@RGO-NH2 nanocatalyst has shown high catalytic activity for all the catalytic reactions even after the fifth cycle, asserting the high stability of the as-fabricated heterogeneous catalyst.