Bimetallic AuCo supported on magnetic crosslinked copoly(ionic liquid) nanohydrogel and study of its catalytic activity

Abstract

Synergistic effects in bimetallic catalysts produce a catalyst with superior activity than a monometallic component. In this work, a novel magnetic crosslinked copoly(ionic liquid) nanohydrogel was synthesized and employed for the stabilization of AuCo bimetallic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@PolyIL-AuCo). This material was characterized using different instrumental techniques such as FT-IR, TGA, XPS, VSM, solid-state UV–Vis, SEM mapping, and TEM. Results indicated a narrow size distribution of nanoparticles and high water dispersibility of Fe3O4@PolyIL-AuCo. Using this catalyst, a series of nitroarenes were reduced to the corresponding amines in aqueous media. In addition, organic dyes were efficiently degraded by this catalyst. Different experiments dealing with the same transformation confirmed that Fe3O4@PolyIL-AuCo exhibited higher catalytic activity than the similar monometallic Au and Co catalysts. This catalyst was recycled for at least 11 consecutive runs with very small deactivation, and TEM, VSM, and XPS confirmed the stability of the reused catalyst.