Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures

This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of a new type of hybrid nanocatalyst material that combines the high surface area of nanoparticles and nanotubes with the structural robustness and ease of handling larger supports. The hybrid material is made by fabricating palladium nanoparticles on two ty...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hema Vijwani, Abinash Agrawal, Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Journal of Nanotechnology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/478381
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850223989105885184
author Hema Vijwani
Abinash Agrawal
Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay
author_facet Hema Vijwani
Abinash Agrawal
Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay
author_sort Hema Vijwani
collection DOAJ
description This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of a new type of hybrid nanocatalyst material that combines the high surface area of nanoparticles and nanotubes with the structural robustness and ease of handling larger supports. The hybrid material is made by fabricating palladium nanoparticles on two types of carbon supports: as-received microcellular foam (Foam) and foam with carbon nanotubes anchored on the pore walls (CNT/Foam). Catalytic reductive dechlorination of carbon tetrachloride with these materials has been investigated using gas chromatography. It is seen that while both palladium-functionalized carbon supports are highly effective in the degradation of carbon tetrachloride, the rate of degradation is significantly increased with palladium on CNT/Foam. However, there is scope to increase this rate further if the wettability of these structures can be enhanced in the future. Microstructural and spectroscopic analyses of the fresh and used catalysts have been compared which indicates that there is no change in density or surface chemical states of the catalyst after prolonged use in dechlorination test. This implies that these materials can be used repeatedly and hence provide a simple, powerful, and cost-effective approach for dechlorination of water.
format Article
id doaj-art-57ba3b2331af45d89305df75b8a377bd
institution OA Journals
issn 1687-9503
1687-9511
language English
publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Journal of Nanotechnology
spelling doaj-art-57ba3b2331af45d89305df75b8a377bd2025-08-20T02:05:46ZengWileyJournal of Nanotechnology1687-95031687-95112012-01-01201210.1155/2012/478381478381Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon NanostructuresHema Vijwani0Abinash Agrawal1Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay2Center for Nanoscale Multifunctional Materials, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435, USADepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435, USACenter for Nanoscale Multifunctional Materials, Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435, USAThis paper demonstrates the effectiveness of a new type of hybrid nanocatalyst material that combines the high surface area of nanoparticles and nanotubes with the structural robustness and ease of handling larger supports. The hybrid material is made by fabricating palladium nanoparticles on two types of carbon supports: as-received microcellular foam (Foam) and foam with carbon nanotubes anchored on the pore walls (CNT/Foam). Catalytic reductive dechlorination of carbon tetrachloride with these materials has been investigated using gas chromatography. It is seen that while both palladium-functionalized carbon supports are highly effective in the degradation of carbon tetrachloride, the rate of degradation is significantly increased with palladium on CNT/Foam. However, there is scope to increase this rate further if the wettability of these structures can be enhanced in the future. Microstructural and spectroscopic analyses of the fresh and used catalysts have been compared which indicates that there is no change in density or surface chemical states of the catalyst after prolonged use in dechlorination test. This implies that these materials can be used repeatedly and hence provide a simple, powerful, and cost-effective approach for dechlorination of water.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/478381
spellingShingle Hema Vijwani
Abinash Agrawal
Sharmila M. Mukhopadhyay
Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures
Journal of Nanotechnology
title Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures
title_full Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures
title_fullStr Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures
title_full_unstemmed Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures
title_short Dechlorination of Environmental Contaminants Using a Hybrid Nanocatalyst: Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Hierarchical Carbon Nanostructures
title_sort dechlorination of environmental contaminants using a hybrid nanocatalyst palladium nanoparticles supported on hierarchical carbon nanostructures
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/478381
work_keys_str_mv AT hemavijwani dechlorinationofenvironmentalcontaminantsusingahybridnanocatalystpalladiumnanoparticlessupportedonhierarchicalcarbonnanostructures
AT abinashagrawal dechlorinationofenvironmentalcontaminantsusingahybridnanocatalystpalladiumnanoparticlessupportedonhierarchicalcarbonnanostructures
AT sharmilammukhopadhyay dechlorinationofenvironmentalcontaminantsusingahybridnanocatalystpalladiumnanoparticlessupportedonhierarchicalcarbonnanostructures