Pd nano-catalyst supported on biowaste-derived porous nanofibrous carbon microspheres for efficient catalysis

Abstract

Environmental pollution caused by the presence of aromatic aldehydes and dyes in wastewater is a serious global concern. An effective strategy for the removal of these pollutants is their catalytic conversion, possibly to valuable compounds. Therefore, the design of efficient, stable and long-lifetime catalysts is a worthwhile research goal. Herein, we used nanofibrous carbon microspheres (NCM) derived from the carbohydrate chitin present in seafood waste, and characterized by interconnected nanofibrous networks and N/O-containing groups, as carriers for the manufacture of a highly dispersed, efficient and stable Pd nano-catalyst (mean diameter ca. 2.52 nm). Importantly, the carbonised chitin’s graphitized structure, defect presence and large surface area could promote the transport of electrons between NCM and Pd, thereby endowing NCM supported Pd catalyst with high catalytic activity. The NCM supported Pd catalyst was employed in the degradation of some representative dyes and the chemoselective hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes; this species exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability, as well as applicability to a broad range of aromatic aldehydes, suggesting its potential use in green industrial catalysis.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

biowaste chitin / nanofibrous / palladium / nano-catalyst / catalysis

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Foundation (Grant No. [2020] 1Y212), the Science and Technology Top Talent Project of Guizhou Province (Grant No. [2021] 029), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52063008 and 52103124), the Graduate Education Innovation Project of Guizhou Province (Grant No. [2020] 099), the Guizhou Province Science and Technology Plan Project (Grant No. ZK [2021] Key 050), the Guizhou Key Laboratory of Inorganic Nonmetallic Functional Materials (Grant No. [2022] 012), the Hundred Talents Project of Guizhou Province (Grant No. [2016] 5673), the Lightweight Materials Engineering Research Center of the Education Department of Guizhou (Grant No. [2022] 045), and the Guizhou Province Science and Technology Support Plan (Grant Nos. [2020] 4Y063 and [2021]04).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-023-2299-7 and is accessible for authorized users.

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