Pd nanocatalyst stabilized on amine-modified zeolite: Antibacterial and catalytic activities for environmental pollution remediation in aqueous medium

In this study, the immobilization of palladium nanoparticles (NPs) on amine modified zeolite (Zeo) particles bearing a heterocyclic ligand has been developed through immobilizing structurally defined furfural with long tail of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. NH2 modified Zeo/Pd has been synthesized via facile multi-step organic amine functionalization as a sustainable, recoverable and highly active nanocatalyst in the reduction of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)], potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) (K3[Fe(CN)6]), 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), Rhodamine B (RhB), Methylene Blue (MB) and Nigrosin (NS) at ambient temperature in aqueous media. The surface nature of zeolite was changed after NH2 modification, leading to a remarkable increase in the catalytic and antimicrobial performances. TEM and HRTEM (high resolution transmission electron microscopy), FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy), STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy), TG-DTG (thermogravimetry/derivative thermogravimetry), FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared), XRD (X-ray diffraction), EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), elemental mapping, XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and Raman analyses have been used to characterize the as-prepared nanocatalyst. The high removal rates of these environmental pollutants with NH2 modified Zeo/Pd nanocatalyst (Pd NPs@Zeo) using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) and formic acid (HCOOH) at ambient temperature were measured via UV–Vis spectroscopy and the nanocatalyst could be reused at least eight times without any significant loss of catalytic activity.