Highly Efficient Catalytic Performances of Nitro Compounds and Morin via Self-Assembled MXene-Pd Nanocomposites Synthesized through Self-Reduction Strategy

Abstract

With development of the society, the problem of environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious. There is the urgent need to develop a new type of sustainable green material for degradable pollutants. However, the conventional preparation method is limited by conditions such as cumbersome operation, high energy consumption, and high pollution. Here, a simple method named self-reduction has been proposed, to synthesize highly efficient catalytic nitro compounds and morin self-assembled MXene-Pd nanocomposites. Palladium nanoparticles were grown in situ on MXene nanosheets to form MXene@PdNPs. MXene@PdNPs composites with different reaction times were prepared by adjusting the reduction reaction time. In particular, MXene@PdNPs20 exhibited a high catalytic effect on 4-NP and 2-NA, and the first-order rate constants of the catalysis were 0.180 s−1 and 0.089 s−1, respectively. It should be noted that after eight consecutive catalytic cycles, the conversion to catalyze 4-NP was still greater than 94%, and the conversion to catalyze 2-NA was still greater than 91.8%. Therefore, the research of self-assembled MXene@PdNPs nanocomposites has important potential value for environmental management and sustainable development of human health, and provides new clues for the future research of MXene-based new catalyst materials.