Farhat SAIRA, Naveeda FIRDOUS, Rumana QURESHI, Ayesha IHSAN

Preparation and catalytic evaluation of Au/ γ-Al2O3nanoparticles for the conversion of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by spectrophotometric metho

A set of catalysts having gold nanoparticles deposited on γ-Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ Au/ γ-Al2O3 with lowest effective amount of gold content were prepared by successive impregnation and hydrogen reduction method. The structural featuresof prepared catalysts were analysed byX-ray diffraction XRD , N2 physisorption, scanning electron microscopy SEM , and Fourier transform infrared FTIR . The catalytic activity was evaluated for the reduction of an organic pollutant 4-nitrophenol 4NP to 4-aminophenol 4AP by spectrophotometric analysis. Supported catalyst presented excellent catalytic ability to convert 4NP to 4AP in the presence of sodium borohydride SBH due to synergistic effect of Au NPs and mesoporous γ-Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ support. The reduction reaction was also performed at a range of temperatures to calculate kinetic parameters. The development of highly stable Au/γ-Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ catalysts with lowest noble metal content and recyclability made the process cost effective and may promote their applications in various fields including removal of organic pollutants in industrial waste water and high-temperature gas-phase reactions.

Keywords:

Gold catalyst, γ-Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$, UV-visible spectroscopy, 4-Nitrophenol,

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