Journal of Inorganic Materials
2019, 34 (
):
817-826.
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.