Ruthenium Supported on Ionically Cross-linked Chitosan-Carrageenan Hybrid MnFe2O4 Catalysts for 4-Nitrophenol Reduction

Abstract

Herein, we report a facile procedure to synthesize the hybrid magnetic catalyst (Ru@CS-CR@Mn) using ruthenium (Ru) supported on ionically cross-linked chitosan-carrageenan (CS-CR) and manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) nanoparticles with excellent catalytic activity. The ionic gelation of CS-CR is acting as a protecting layer to promote the encapsulation of MnFe2O4 and Ru nanoparticles by electrostatic interactions. The presence of an active metal and a CS-CR layer on the as-prepared Ru@CS-CR@Mn catalyst was well determined by a series of physicochemical analyses. Subsequently, the catalytic performances of the Ru@CS-CR@Mn catalysts were further examined in the 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction reaction in the presence of sodium borohydride (reducing agent) at ambient temperature. The Ru@CS-CR@Mn catalyst performed excellent catalytic activity in the 4-NP reduction, with a turnover frequency (TOF) values of 925 h−1 and rate constant (k) of 0.078 s−1. It is worth to mentioning that the Ru@CS-CR@Mn catalyst can be recycled and reused up to at least ten consecutive cycles in the 4-NP reduction with consistency in catalytic performance. The Ru@CS-CR@Mn catalyst is particularly attractive as a catalyst due to its superior catalytic activity and superparamagnetic properties for easy separation. We foresee this catalyst having high potential to be extended in a wide range of chemistry applications.