Composition modulation of Cu/Cu2O/CuO nanoparticles supported on carbon for p-nitrophenol reduction

Blue-LED activated photocatalytic hydrogenation of nitroarenes with Cu2O/CuO heterojunctions

This study describes how the optimization of Cu2O/CuO heterostructures can enhance their (photo)catalytic performance. More specifically, the evaluation of catalysts with different Cu2O/CuO molar ratios was used to optimize their performance for the hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol under both blue-LED light and dark conditions. For the first time, we analyzed the effect of blue LED irradiation on this reaction and found that when blue LEDs are used as the light source, a Cu2O/CuO ratio of 0.15 results in rate constants 7 to 3 times higher than those of catalysts with either lower (0.01) or higher (0.42) ratios. Furthermore, this photocatalyst shows good stability, >70% after 5 cycles, and excellent chemoselectivity in the selective reduction of the nitro group in the presence of other functionalities, i.e. -COOH, -CONH2 and -OH.

Pyrolysis of a metal-organic framework followed by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy, powder diffraction and pair distribution function analysis

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can serve as precursors for new nanomaterials via thermal decomposition. Such MOF-derived nanomaterials (MDNs) are often comprised of metal and/or metal oxide particles embedded on porous carbon....