Ionic liquid-directed growth of large 3D AuPd nanoflowers and their superior catalytic performance

Designing a mild and cost-saving one-step protocol to construct free-supporting 3D bimetallic nanomaterials is highly appealed in both academic research and industrial applications. In this work, large 3D AuPd nanoflowers (NFs) are grown and constructed at room temperature in water via an ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl)-directed method. The results show that the as-obtained AuPd NFs present opening and free-standing multi-level structures. Specifically, large AuPd NFs are built up by 2D leaves, the leaves are composed of many nanobranches, which consist of nanopetals with symmetric growth. It is shown that the [Bmim]Cl has an important effect on the construction of AuPd NFs. Meanwhile, the AuPd NFs exhibit superior catalytic activity toward both the degradation of organic dyes (methylene blue and Congo red) and the reduction of nitroaromatics ( p -nitrophenol and p -nitroaniline). After six runs of the recycles, no obvious deactivation is found. The large AuPd NFs are also eagerly expected to have potentials in other applications including electrocatalysis and sensors.