Exploring the catalytic activity of Nb4C3Tx MXene towards the degradation of nitro compounds and organic dyes by in situ decoration of palladium nanoparticles

Abstract

We report on the catalytic activity of Nb₄C₃T_x based composites towards the catalytic reduction of nitro compounds and organic dyes for the first time. Nb₄C₃T_x-PdNP composites have been synthesized by in situ reduction of Pd nanoparticles (PdNPs) on Nb₄C₃T_x MXenes with different ratios of Pd. Catalytic reduction experiments showed that the Nb₄C₃T_x-Pd5% composite was able to facilitate the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and organic dyes; it was found that the reduction of 4-NP occurred completely within 3 min. The optimum concentration of the PdNPs in the composite has been evaluated by varying the ratio of PdNPs in the composite and it was found that Nb₄C₃T_x-Pd5% is the best catalyst. The reusability test of the Nb₄C₃T_x-Pd5% catalyst showed that the catalyst could be reused up to 5 times with 86% activity remaining at the 5^th cycle. In addition, the Nb₄C₃T_x-Pd5% catalyst can also be used as the catalyst for the reduction of methylene blue and methyl orange. This work explores the possibility of application of the Nb₄C₃T_x based composite for the first time as the catalyst for the reduction of nitro compounds and organic dyes.