Photochemistry-assisted ethylene glycol reduction synthesis of Pd/CuCN nanomaterials and their catalytic applications

In this paper, copper-doped N-containing carbon materials (CuCN) were obtained by pyrolyzing copper acetylacetonate using a metal–organic skeleton (ZIF-8) at 900 °C. Pd/CuCN nanomaterials were synthesized using a photochemical method assisted by the ethylene glycol reduction strategy. The precise preparation of Pd/CuCN nanomaterials was realized by regulating different wavelengths of the light source and different precursor concentrations in the photochemical process to control the particle size, morphology, and crystal structure effectively. The results showed that the catalyst 10Pd/CuCN-3 prepared under green light at a wavelength of 550 nm and a precursor concentration of 10 mM had high catalytic activity. Its degradation rate constant for 4-NP was 1.77 min−1 and the conversion rate was maintained at about 90% after five cycles of reaction, which showed good durability and conversion rate. This study demonstrates that visible light can effectively control and prepare palladium nanoparticles of smaller size.