Ionic liquid-induced Pd aerogels with interface regulation for boosted catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Designing the robust catalysts with a self-supported open structure and engineering surface would be beneficial for promoting intrinsic activity, increasing active sites, and enhancing electron/mass transfer during catalysis. The metallic aerogels (MAs) with hierarchical porous nanostructures and pure metal skeleton could be a favorable platform for fabricating high-performance catalysts. The introduction of an interface engineering strategy causes beneficial structural and electronic properties of MAs. Herein, the ionic liquid (IL) induced metallic Pd aerogels with well-defined nanowires are developed for the efficient catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in the presence of NH 3 BH 3 . The engineered IL-Pd aerogels exhibit the integrated advantages of exceptional catalytic activities (including a high k value of 31.2 × 10 −2 s −1 and a high turnover frequency (TOF) of 320.4 h −1 ), acceptable costeffectiveness with a low NH 3 BH 3 concentration (n[NH 3 BH 3 ]/n[4-NP] of 120), remarkable cyclability, and noticeable longstanding stability. This work opens a new avenue for developing high-performance MAs with improved activity and durability.