Platinum and Palladium/Cadmium Sulfide Nanostructures at Liquid/Liquid Interface as Suitable Catalysts for Reduction of p-Nitrophenol Reaction

Recently, quantum dots have been attended a great interest due to their unique optical properties such as excellent photostability and narrow emission. In the case of catalysis, different modifications can be used to improve the catalytic activity of catalysts. One of the suitable, effective and important strategies is coupling semiconductors with metal ions. For instance, the value of work function for palladium is high. This fact is very notable for taking up electrons from the conduction band of CdS quantum dots. In this study, a facile and useful procedure for the synthesis of Pt/CdS and Pd/CdS nanoparticles (NPs) thin films is presented by the reduction of [PtCl2(cod)] and [PdCl2(cod)] (cod = cis,cis-1,5-cyclooctadiene) complexes at water- toluene interface. The structure and morphology of Pt/CdS and Pd/CdS NPs thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Catalytic activities of Pt/CdS and Pd/CdS nanostructures were investigated in the reduction of p-nitrophenol (toxic water pollutant with carcinogenic effect for wildlife and humans even in low concentration) to p-aminophenol. Pt/CdS thin film shows a higher catalytic activity toward this reaction.