Covalent Organic Framework-Functionalized Magnetic CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag Nanoparticles for the Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol

In this work, magnetic CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag nanoparticles activated by porous covalent organic frameworks (COF) was fabricated to evaluate the heterogenous reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The core-shell CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag@COF was successfully prepared by polydopamine reduction of silver ions on CuFe(2)O(4) nanoparticles, followed by COF layer condensation. By integrating the intrinsic characteristics of the magnetic CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag core and COF layer, the obtained nanocomposite exhibited features of high specific surface area (464.21 m(2) g(−1)), ordered mesoporous structure, strong environment stability, as well as fast magnetic response. Accordingly, the CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag@COF catalyst showed good affinity towards 4-NP via π-π stacking interactions and possessed enhanced catalytic activity compared with CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag and CuFe(2)O(4)@COF. The pseudo-first-order rate constant of CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag@COF (0.77 min(−1)) is 3 and 5 times higher than CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag and CuFe(2)O(4)@COF, respectively. The characteristics of bi-catalytic CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag and the porous COF shell of CuFe(2)O(4)/Ag@COF made a contribution to improve the activity of 4-NP reduction. The present work demonstrated a facile strategy to fabricate COF-activated nano-catalysts with enhanced performance in the fields of nitrophenolic wastewater treatment.