Synergistic effect of bimetallic Cu:Ni nanoparticles for the efficient catalytic conversion of 4-nitrophenolElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c8nj05649h

• Main Authors: Seethapathy, Vivek, Sudarsan, Preethi, Pandey, Anurag Kumar, Pandiyan, Arunkumar, Kumar, T. H. Vignesh, Sanjeevi, Kannan, Sundramoorthy, Ashok K, Krishna Moorthy, Suresh Babu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 11.02.2019
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/c8nj05649h

The structural engineering of metallic nanoparticles opens a pathway for improving their catalytic activity. Herein, we report the hydrothermal synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles differing in Cu-Ni molar ratio (Cu25Ni75, Cu50Ni50 and Cu75Ni25) and compare these with the properties of monometallic nickel and copper. Cu25Ni75 and Cu50Ni50 primarily exhibited a bimetallic composite structure, while Cu75Ni25 displayed a bimetallic alloy structure. The bimetallic system demonstrated better catalytic activity for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol in comparison to the monometals. In spite of a similar surface area and size, the Cu75Ni25 bimetallic alloy showed good recyclability with high catalytic activity towards 4-nitrophenol reduction that was 24 times higher than that of monometallic copper. Cyclic voltammetry studies revealed a higher oxidation current for Cu75Ni25, indicating that it possesses a better electron transfer rate, which facilitates catalytic activity. Our results highlight the importance of developing bimetallic interfaces for improving the efficiency of catalytic processes. A non-noble metal-based bimetallic Cu-Ni system for the conversion of 4-nitrophenol and effective recyclability by magnetic retrieval of the catalyst.