Quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposite catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

This study investigated a one-step green fabrication of exfoliated quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposites under microwave radiation method. The nanocomposites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, XPS and TEM. The results revealed that quaternized chitosan and rectorite acted as reducing and stabilizing agents, spherical AgNPs were synthesized greenly and rapidly, meanwhile the layers of rectorite were exfoliated, and when the ratio of quaternized chitosan, rectorite and silver nitrate was 100 mg: 10 mg: 2 mmol, the AgNP content reached the maximum of 2.73%. Then, the quaternized chitosan/rectorite/AgNP nanocomposite was fabricated as a film, which was used in the catalytic reduction from 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by NaBH4. The film showed excellent catalytic efficiency with an activation energy of 29.76 kJ mol(-1) and outstanding reusable performance even after catalysis for 10 times. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.