Highly efficient reduction of hexavalent chromium on amino-functionalized palladium nanowires

Palladium (Pd) nanostructures are attracting much attention due to their intriguing optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. Pd-catalytic hydrogenation is an effective route for remediating organic and inorganic contaminants. In this work, a simple formate-mediated chemical reduction method is used to synthesize the polyallylamine functionalized Pd nanowire networks (Pd-NWWs). The morphology, structure, and surface composition of Pd-NWWs are investigated in detail. The formation mechanism of Pd-NWWs is defined in accordance with the experimental observation and discussion. Physical characterization shows the as-synthesized products are a three-dimensionally interconnected network with one-dimensional Pd nanowires as building blocks, and the Pd nanowires grow from the primary spherical Pd nanocrystals via the oriented attachment. In comparison with commercial Pd black, the amino-functionalized Pd-NWWs exhibit remarkably improved catalytic activity for the hexavalent chromium reduction at room temperature. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.