Facile synthesis and catalytic application of Ag-Fe2O3-carbons nanocomposites

We present a facile and mild synthetic strategy for preparing the Ag-Fe2O3-carbons nanocomposites (Ag-MACs) via gamma-ray, in which the superparamagnetic gamma-Fe2O3 and silver nanoparticles are randomly dispersed in the porous carbons. The results show that Ag-MACS have large surface area (654 m(2)/g) and superparamagnetism. Meanwhile, we also study the application of Ag-MACs in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol. Experimental results show Ag-MACs have high catalytic reduction capacity and can be separated from the water easily by the magnet for the reuse. In addition, the initial concentration of silver nitrate is determined for the maximum reaction rate. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.