Facile γ-ray irradiation synthesis of Pt/GA nanocomposite for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Up to now, facile and pollution-free routes for catalyst preparation are in high demand. In this study, a green and cost-effective strategy was successfully developed to construct platinum/graphene aerogel (Pt/GA) nanocomposites by the co-reduction of graphene oxides (GO) and chloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6 center dot 6H(2)O) with the assists of gamma-ray irradiation in the absence of any other reductants. Characterization studies indicated that the energy of gamma-ray irradiation and the hole scavenger isopropanol (IPA) played a vital role in forming small Pt nanoparticles with uniform size of similar to 3 nm on the surface of graphene aerogel (GA). Furthermore, Pt/GA synthesized with a mass ratio of 2:1 (Pt/GA-2) exhibited a lowest activation energy value and outstanding catalytic properties for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The excellent catalytic and cycling performance suggest that Pt/GA-2 catalyst has a promising prospect for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds in wastewater treatment and other industrial applications. (C) 2020, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.