Chitosan based polymer matrix with silver nanoparticles decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Saad M Alshehri; Turki Almuqati; Naif Almuqati; Eida Al-Farraj; Norah Alhokbany; Tansir Ahamad

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.05.018

Chitosan based polymer matrix with silver nanoparticles decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Carbohydr Polym. 2016 Oct 20:151:135-143. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.05.018. Epub 2016 May 10.

Authors

Saad M Alshehri¹, Turki Almuqati², Naif Almuqati³, Eida Al-Farraj⁴, Norah Alhokbany⁵, Tansir Ahamad⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: alshehri@ksu.edu.sa.
² Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: trooke-99@hotmail.com.
³ National Center for Petrochemicals Technology, KACST, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: nalmuqati@kacst.edu.sa.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: eidalenazi@ksu.edu.sa.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: nhokbany@ksu.edu.sa.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: tahamed@ksu.edu.sa.

PMID: 27474552
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.05.018

Abstract

A novel catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) was prepared using carboxyl group-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), polymer matrix, and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The AgNPs were prepared by the reduction of silver nitrate by trisodium citrate in the MWCNTs-polymer nanocomposite; the size of the synthesized AgNPs was found to be 3nm (average diameter). The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized using several analytical techniques. Ag@MWCNTs-polymer composite in the presence of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) in aqueous solution is an effective catalyst for the reduction of 4-NP. The apparent kinetics of reduction has a pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the rate constant and catalytic activity parameter were found to be respectively 7.88×10(-3)s(-1)and 11.64s(-1)g(-1). The MWCNTs-polymer nanocomposite renders stability to AgNPs against the environment and the reaction medium, which means that the Ag@MWCNTs-polymer composite can be re-used for many catalytic cycles.

Keywords: Catalyst; Chitosan; Multiwalled carbon nanotube; Reduction of 4-nitrophenol; Silver nanoparticle.

MeSH terms

Catalysis
Chitosan / chemistry*
Cross-Linking Reagents / chemistry
Glutaral / chemistry
Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Nanotubes, Carbon / chemistry*
Nitrophenols / chemistry*
Oxidation-Reduction
Silver / chemistry*

Substances

Cross-Linking Reagents
Nanotubes, Carbon
Nitrophenols
Silver
Chitosan
Glutaral
4-nitrophenol