Light-Induced Synthesis of Cu- and N-Co-Doped Carbon-Supported Palladium Nanocatalysts and Study of Their Catalytic Reduction of p-Nitrophenol

In this study, a porous carbon support (CuCN) with a high specific surface area and an N-doped Cu-N-C network was synthesized by pyrolyzing copper acetylacetonate on a metal-organic framework (ZIF-8) at 900 °C. To investigate the relationship between the preparation process and performance of CuCN-supported palladium nanoparticles, a light-induced synthesis method was employed to replace the traditional high-temperature thermal reduction process, enabling the controlled loading of palladium nanoparticles onto CuCN. A Cu- and N-co-doped carbon-supported palladium nanocatalyst (Pd/CuCN-M) was prepared, and the effects of optimal illumination conditions and reducer types on the catalyst were explored. The results show that the Cu- and N-co-doped carbon-supported palladium nanocatalyst, designated Pd/CuCN-M1, prepared using methanol as the reducing agent and irradiated with near-ultraviolet light at 395 nm, exhibits high catalytic activity and stability. The rate constant for the reduction of p-nitrophenol (4-NP) reached 2.1 min⁻¹, and the conversion rate remained at 90.2% after five cycles of stability testing. This study presents a green, convenient, and highly efficient method for synthesizing Pd nanocatalysts, offering a new approach to reducing the use of precious metals and treating p-nitrophenol-based pollutants generated in industrial production. Graphical