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Palladium and gold nanoparticles on carbon supports as highly efficient catalysts for effective removal of trichloroethylene

Journal of Materials Research volume 33, pages 2404–2413 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

Palladium (Pd) and gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) hybridized on two types of carbon supports, graphene and granular activated carbon (GAC), were shown to be promising catalysts for the sustainable hydrodehalogenation of aqueous trichloroethylene (TCE). These catalysts are capable of degrading TCE more rapidly than commercial Pd-on-GAC catalysts. The catalysts were synthesized at room temperature without the use of any environmentally unfriendly chemicals. Pd was chosen for its catalytic potency to break down TCE, while Au acts as a strong promoter of the catalytic activity of Pd. The results indicate that both graphene and GAC are favorable supports for the NPs due to high surface-to-volume ratios, unique surface properties, and the prevention of NP aggregation. The properties of NP catalysts were characterized using electron microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. The TCE degradation results indicate that the GAC-supported catalysts have a higher rate of TCE removal than the commercial Pd-on-GAC catalyst, and the degradation rate is greatly increased when using graphene-supported samples.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Nos. 1507707 and 1508115 as well as by Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI). The participation of undergraduate students in this research is supported by NSF REU-Site Award No. 1560383 and the NIH BUILD EXITO program. All electron microscopy and spectroscopy characterizations were completed at the Center for Electron Microscopy and Nanofabrication (CEMN), located at Portland State University.

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Author notes

  1. Dimin Fan

    Present address: Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Arlington, Virginia, 22201, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 97201, USA

    Kavita Meduri, Otto Zietz & Jun Jiao

  2. Department of Physics, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, 97201, USA

    Candice Stauffer, Andrew Barnum & Jun Jiao

  3. Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588, USA

    Wen Qian

  4. School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, 97239, USA

    Graham O’Brien Johnson, Dimin Fan & Paul Tratnyek

  5. School of Physics and Technology, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, China

    Weixiao Ji & Changwen Zhang

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  1. Kavita Meduri
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Correspondence to Jun Jiao.

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Meduri, K., Stauffer, C., Qian, W. et al. Palladium and gold nanoparticles on carbon supports as highly efficient catalysts for effective removal of trichloroethylene. Journal of Materials Research 33, 2404–2413 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2018.212

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2018.212