Reduced graphene oxide based NiCo layered double hydroxide nanocomposites: An efficient catalyst for epoxidation of styrene

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) based NiCo layered double hydroxide nanocomposite (NiCo LDH/RGO) was successfully synthesized by simple hydrothermal method. The as-prepared NiCo LDH/RGO(5) nanocomposite was used to catalyze the epoxidation of styrene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. The conversion rate of styrene and the selectivity of styrene oxide reaches 95.1% and 73.9%, respectively, proving that NiCo LDH/RGO(5) has much better catalytic activity in comparison with other composite catalysts previously reported. Moreover, cycling test shows that the nanocomposite has good catalytic stability.