Ni nanoparticles intercalated LTA-type nanozeolite (KZ) supported on reduced graphene oxide for 4-nitrophenol reduction

•KZ-Ni/RGO nanocomposite was synthesized.•Reduction of GO to RGO was confirmed by the XRD technique.•Elemental mapping shows the uniform dispersion of Ni on KZ/RGO.•UV-vis shows the higher performance of KZ-Ni/RGO catalyst towards the 4-NP reduction.

We present a novel nanocomposite catalyst, Ni nanoparticles (NPs) intercalated LTA-type nanozeolite (KZ) on reduced graphene oxide (RGO), abbreviated as KZ-Ni/RGO for the reduction of environmental pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The structure, composition and morphology of the catalyst were characterized by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The presence of Ni inside the nanocomposite was confirmed by the elemental mapping analysis. 4-NP reduction reaction shows the high catalytic activity (30 min) to KZ-Ni/RGO nanocomposite compared to the KZ-Ni (75 min) with excellent stability up to 5 cycles.

Graphical abstractIn present study, we report a novel catalyst KZ-Ni/RGO nanocomposite for the reduction of environmental pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental mapping techniques were used to evaluate the structure, composition and morphology of nanocomposite. 4-NP reduction reaction shows the high catalytic activity (30 min) of KZ-Ni/RGO nanocomposite compared to the KZ-Ni (75 min) with excellent stability up to 5 cycles.Download high-res image (149KB)Download full-size image