Preparation and characterization of novel nanoparticles for various industrial applications

Abstract

In this thesis, a successful complete reduction of the p-nitrophenol (carcinogenic and toxic waste material) was carried out on the surface of novel CuFe2O4/rGO nanocomposites. Copper ferrite (CuFe2O4) nanoparticles were prepared via a simple co-precipitation reaction in presence of different capping agents and dispersed on the surface of rGO (reduced graphene oxide) synthesized by improved hummers method which yields improved product quality. The prepared nanoparticles were investigated by DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter) and the crystalline structure and crystallite size were estimated by XRD (X-Ray diffraction). The surface area and pore size distribution were also estimated using nitrogen adsorption and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The experimental results have pointed out the high catalytic activity of prepared nano-composite towards the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol (important intermediate for paracetamol and analgesic drugs) which improved greatly (around 50% improvement) by dispersion on rGO’s surface, where it exhibited several advantages such as low-cost, stability and rapid separation.