Copper Nanoparticles Supported on a Schiff base-Fullerene as Catalyst for Reduction of Nitrophenols and Organic Dyes

Abstract

The N-(3-((2-hydroxybenzylidene)amino)phenyl)benzamide Schiff base ligand (L) was synthesized andcharacterized. The ligand was immobilized on the fullerene material with a reduction copper material. Theresulting nanocomposite Cu/Ligand@Fullerene (M1) was characterized by FE-SEM EDX, EDX mapping,FT-IR, and XRD techniques and tested as a catalyst for reduction of nitrophenols (2-nitrophenol (2-NP),4-nitrophenol (4-NP)) and organic dyes (methylene blue (M.B.), Rhodamine B (Rh B)) under ambienttemperature in water. The catalytic conversions and the reaction rate constant per total weight of the M1catalyst were recorded as 89.9% at 300 s for 2-nitrophenol, 97.9% at 300 s for 4-nitrophenol, 90.6% at360 s for Rhodamine B, and 98.3% at 60 s for methylene blue. For 4-NP, the reusability study was carriedout as five cycles between 97.9% - 87.3% conversions, respectively. The fabricated Cu/Ligand@Fullerene(M1) nanocomposite has good catalytic efficiency and reusability, low cost, and easy to produce.