Metal-arene reduced Fe–Sb nanoparticles as a highly efficient catalyst for nitrophenol reduction

Abstract

The recently discovered enhanced electrochemical performance of binary antimonides has attracted significant interest as an anode material in lithium/sodium ion batteries; however, their potential as an efficient catalyst has not been much explored. Here, we report the synthesis of FeSb based nanoparticles by sodium naphthalenide-driven reduction and study of their catalytic performance in the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol. Structural, surface and magnetic studies of the synthesized samples reveal the formation of very small (1–2 nm), uniformly dispersed weakly magnetic porous nanoparticles. The sample with 30 min refluxing time showed improved catalytic activity for p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol reduction. The results were consistent with N₂ adsorption–desorption analysis, which confirmed more porosity in the same sample. Optimization of the refluxing time to enhance the catalytic performance showed the presence of a narrow time window, beyond which the activity degrades. The present study suggests that binary antimonides could possibly be used as an efficient catalyst with better activity than earlier reported ones.