A facile green synthesis of Pd3Cu1 nano-urchins with highly catalytic selectivity for p-nitrobenzaldehyde hydrogenation

Developing a facile green strategy to one-step prepare anisotropic bimetallic nanomaterials with hierarchical structures is preferred choice but remains technically challenge. Here, a simple ionic liquid-directed route is developed for the fabrication of Pd 3 Cu 1 alloy nano-urchins (NUs) at room temperature in aqueous solution. To achieve the synthetic protocol, water-soluble Na 2 PdCl 4 and CuCl 2 are used as the initial raw materials, ascorbic acid as the reducing agent, and a common ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C 4 mim]Cl) is applied to guide the growth and formation of Pd 3 Cu 1 NUs, vividly demonstrating the green and cost-saving features. The various factors affecting the shapes and sizes of products are researched. The results show that [C 4 mim]Cl is vital to the formation of thorny Pd 3 Cu 1 NUs. The Pd 3 Cu 1 NUs possess uniform morphology, lots of sharp thorns, high specific surface area and 3D freestanding structures, and exhibit outstanding catalytic activity, selectivity and durability for p -nitrobenzaldehyde hydrogenation having 100% conversion and 94.6% selectivity to p -aminobenzaldehyde. It is believed that the 3D Pd 3 Cu 1 NUs would also have hopeful prospects in electrocatalysis , sensor and beyond.