Novel Pd based catalyst for the removal of organic and emerging contaminants

Abstract

We report a simple approach to autocatalytic reduction and decoration of Au, Pd, and Pt nanocrystals on biodegradable cellulose polymer coated with polypyrrole. Cellulose was used as a template for the coating of polypyrrole. Reduction of different metals such as Au, Pd, and Pt and their decoration can be achieved through polypyrrole-coated cellulose fibers. Pre-selected bulk morphology of PdO/PdO₂-embedded carbon was achieved through a microwave combustion method within one minute using the above-mentioned metal and polypyrrole-coated composite cellulose fibers. Synthesized Pd-decorated polypyrrole-coated cellulose fibers (Pd/py-cellulose) and microwave-ignited above mentioned (PdO/PdO₂/C) materials provide a suitable catalyst for the degradation/reduction of methylene blue (waste water simulator) to leucomethylene blue at room temperature in aqueous media. At various concentrations, the material exhibits an overall reaction coefficient (ranging from 0.0183 to 0.1168 M⁻¹ s⁻¹), much greater than the self-degradation of methylene blue (MB) (0.00002 M⁻¹ s⁻¹). Through microwave ignition, the apparent increase in surface area of palladium results in a catalyst capable of high conversion (68.9%) at low concentrations.