Pd on a novel nitrogen doped porous carbon derived from task specific ionic liquid and biomass: An efficient catalyst for reduction of organic dyes

In attempt to develop low-cost biomass derived carbon materials with improved properties, herein we present a facile method for the fabrication of nitrogen doped carbon through carbonization of beet root, ZnCl2 and our developed cyano/nitrile-free ionic liquid. The resultant N-doped carbon possesses high specific surface area (1297 m(2) g(-1)), abundant micropores and mesopores, an ideal pore size distribution and a partial graphite structure, and high nitrogen hetematom doping. The nanosheet was then applied as a support for the immobilization of Pd nanoparticles to furnish an efficient and recyclable catalyst for the reduction of organic dyes, Rhodamine B and Methyl orange in the presence of NaBH4. A comparative study confirmed that introduction of ionic liquid could remarkably affect the properties of the catalyst in terms of Pd loading, nature of the formed carbon, textural properties and nitrogen content. The effects of the catalyst loading and the reaction temperature were elucidated. Moreover, the kinetic studies revealed that the activation energy, enthalpy, and entropy for the reduction of Methyl orange were as 30.3 kJ mol(-1), 27.7 kJ mol(-1), and -180.1 J mol(-1) K-1, respectively. For Rhodamine B, these values were as follow: 44.8 kJ mol(-1), 41.7 kJ mol(-1), and -136 Jmol(-1) K-1, respectively.