Biogenic-Mediated Synthesis of Mesoporous Cu(2)O/CuO Nano-Architectures of Superior Catalytic Reductive towards Nitroaromatics

Cu(2)O/CuO nano-architectures were prepared by biogenic-mediated synthesis using pomegranate seeds extract as the reducing/stabilizing mediator during an aqueous solution combustion process of the Cu(2+) precursor. The fabricated Cu(2)O/CuO nanocomposite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and nitrogen sorption. Nitrobenzene (NB) was applied a probe to test the catalytic activities of the fabricated Cu(2)O/CuO nanocomposite. The results indicated that pomegranate seeds extract (PSE) manifest Cu(2)O/CuO NPs of tiny particle size, larger pore volume and greater surface area compared to the bulky CuO synthesized in the absence of PSE. The surface area and total pore volume of Cu(2)O/CuO NPs were 20.1 m(2) g(−1) and 0.0362 cm(3) g(−1), respectively. The FESEM image shows the formation of broccoli-like architecture. The fabricated Cu(2)O/CuO nanocomposite possesses surprising activity towards the reduction of nitro compounds in the presence of NaBH(4) into amino compounds with high conversion (94%). The reduction process was performed in water as a green solvent. Over four consecutive cycles the resulting nanocomposite also exhibits outstanding stability. In addition, the resulting Cu(2)O/CuO nanocomposite suggested herein may encourage scientists to start preparing more cost-effective catalysts for marketing instead of complicated catalysts.