Facile synthesis of highly dispersed palladium/polypyrrole nanocapsules for catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol

In this study, a facile one-step redox polymerization method for the preparation of highly dispersed palladium (Pd)/polypyrrole (PPy) nanocapsules has been demonstrated. During the polymerizaion process, the formation of RB - PdCl42- complex via an electrostatic interaction plays a key role for the preparation of Pd/PPy composite nanocapsules. The well-dispersed Pd nanocrystals with small sizes of 2-4 nm embedded in PPy nanocapsules exhibited a good catalytic activity during the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol into p-aminophenol by NaBH4 in aqueous solution. The kinetic apparent rate constant (k(app)) was about 8.87 x 10(-3) s(-1). Moreover, the as-prepared Pd/PPy composite nanocapsules exhibited a good reusability, which could be repeatedly used for the reduction of p-nitrophenol with a high catalytic activity for at least 10 successive cycles. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.