Ag nanoparticle immobilized mesoporous TiO2-cobalt ferrite nanocatalyst: A highly active, versatile, magnetically separable and reusable catalyst

Abstract Here, a simple method for preparation of a novel nanocatalyst, composed of Ag nanoparticle, mesoporous TiO 2 and CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticle, has been reported for three important reactions (i) epoxidation of styrene, (ii) reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and (iii) photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue dye. The synthesized catalyst exhibited high catalytic activities towards all of these three reactions. For styrene epoxidation, ∼98.1% conversion of styrene with ∼94.5% selectivity of styrene oxide was observed within 10 h. This catalyst catalyzed the reduction of 4-nitrophenol within 4 min with k app = 1.08 min −1 . The catalyst also showed complete photodegradation of Methylene Blue within 60 min under visible light exposure. The catalyst was easily recovered from the reaction mixture by applying a permanent magnet externally. The recovered catalyst also showed excellent reusability. Easy synthesis methodology, versatile catalytic activity, easy separation and good reusability make this nanocatalyst attractive in the field of heterogeneous catalysis.