Highly efficient degradation of organic dyes by palladium nanoparticles decorated on 2D magnetic reduced graphene oxide nanosheets

Abstract

The application of nanohybrids in water treatment by the catalytic degradation of various pollutants has attracted much attention from researchers. Here, the Pd/Fe₃O₄-PEI-RGO nanohybrids (1d) with high shape selectivity and high specific surface area have been synthesized by the dispersion of Pd NPs and Fe₃O₄ NPs on PEI modified graphene oxide sheets. These nanohybrids show superior catalytic activity toward methylene blue with a high degradation efficiency above 99% in the presence of NaBH₄ in aqueous solution, which is attributed to the effects of the Pd NPs supported on reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. Meanwhile, the 1d catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture by applying an external magnetic field. The catalyst was recycled nine times without showing any significant loss in its activity. Such features enable this catalyst for promising application in catalysis, environment, and new energy fields.