Facile fabrication of bimetallic Cu–Ag binary hybrid nanoparticles and their application in catalysis

Herein, high efficiency and recyclable Cu–Ag hybrid catalyst (Trp–Cu–Ag) NPs were prepared by the hydrothermal method using L-tryptophan as a reducing agent and protecting reagent. The structure, morphology and catalytic properties of the Trp–Cu–Ag NPs were investigated in detail. The binary Trp–Cu–Ag NPs were assembled using Trp–Cu nanosheets and Ag nanoparticles through a one-step process. The developed Trp–Cu–Ag NPs show excellent catalytic performance in the reduction of nitrophenols (4-nitrophenol, 2-nitrophenol and 3-nitrophenol). Meanwhile, the Trp–Cu–Ag NPs exhibited a stable conversion efficiency of over 95% for more than 10 recycles in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The binary Trp–Cu–Ag NPs can also catalytically reduce K3(Fe(CN)6) in the presence of a NaBH4 aqueous solution with high efficiency. All in all, the obtained Trp–Cu–Ag NPs show potential as a catalyst in practical environmental protection applications due to their cost-effective and recyclable features.