Boron Nitride Nanosheets Supported Cu2O Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Catalytic Reduction for 4-nitrophenol
Journal of Inorganic Materials
2019, 34 (8):
817-826.
DOI: 10.15541/jim20180487
Despite excellent catalytic capability, Cu2O nanomaterial exhibits weak stability which limits its application. In this study, a novel kind of Cu2O, Cu2O/BNNSs-OH, supported catalyst with highly catalytic efficiency and stability, was facilely fabricated via a controllable liquid phase reduction of ascorbic acid and combining with an annealing process. Cu2O/BNNSs-OH catalyst was synthesized by using boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs), prepared by the “push-pull” effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and water phase change, as a supporter and spherical Cu2O nanoparticles (2-7 nm) prepared by forward titration (ascorbic acid→Cu 2+, solution with a pH 11) as active components. Morphology and structure of as-obtained samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Raman spectroscopy. The results of the synthetic method showed that spherical Cu2O nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the carrier surface and BNNSs displayed some stabilization effect on Cu2O which could be prevented from being oxidized into CuO. Moreover, the catalytic activity was investigated by catalytic reduction reaction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. Cu2O/BNNSs-OH with high catalytic activity similar to the noble metal catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol is highly reusable for five successive cycles without significant degradation and activity loss. ![]()
Fig. 3
SEM image (a) with inset showing bulk h-BN, TEM image (b), HRTEM image (c) with inset showing corresponding SAED pattern, AFM image (d), and the corresponding height profile of random nanosheet along the red trace (e) and statistical analyse on the number of monolayers per sheet (f) of BNNSs
Extracts from the Article
利用SEM和TEM观察剥离得到的BNNSs的形貌, 由图3(a~b)可以看出与原始h-BN相比, BNNSs呈现平滑交错的薄层纳米片结构。高分辨TEM显示BNNSs保持高度有序的晶格条纹结构, 为了准确测量晶面间距, 选取层数相对较多的位置进行拍摄, 可清晰看出纳米片层数为6层, 条纹间距为0.33 nm。电子衍射(SEAD)图案显示出了BNNSs完整六方对称蜂窝状的晶体结构, 表明其六方相结构在剥离过程中得到保留, 没有发生破坏和变形。为了更加直接地测定氮化硼纳米片的厚度和层数分布, 对其进行原子力显微镜(AFM)表征。从图3(d~e)看出选取的纳米片厚度为1.4 nm, 约为4-5个原子层的厚度。经过统计分析, 90%以上纳米片厚度少于6层。以上结果表明, PVP辅助冻融法成功制备层数少于6层的超薄BNNSs。
Other Images/Table from this Article
|