Green Synthesis of Palladium Nanoparticles Immobilised on Graphitic Carbon Nitride as a Sustainable Nanocatalyst for the Reduction of Nitroarenes and Removal of Fluorinated Substances

The design of more environmentally friendly nanoparticles as a catalyst for various fields is the focus of present research. As a part of our ongoing research, we have developed an environmentally friendly approach for reduction of nitroarenes, and for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from wastewater through biogenically synthesized palladium nanoparticles grafted on banana leaves extract-modified graphitic carbon nitride [PdNPs@g-C3N4-BLE] as a nanocatalyst. The synthesized nanocatalyst showed enhanced activity, greater stability and good selectivity in the reduction of various nitroarenes with the good to excellent yield in a short period of time under mild reaction conditions. Additionally, a remarkable recyclability without any significant loss of catalytic activity demonstrates nanocatalyst's heterogeneous nature. The PdNPs@g-C3N4-BLE nanocatalyst can easily hydrogenate an organic contaminant like 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) of similar to 99% conversion in 1.16 min (70 s) with fast pseudo-first order kinetics. In addition, PdNPs@g-C3N4-BLE nanocatalyst acts as an adsorbent and exhibited effective removal of a highly toxic, environmentally pervasive PFAS from wastewater through simple sorption method. Graphical Abstract An environmentally friendly approach for reduction of nitroarenes, and for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from wastewater was developed through biogenically synthesized palladium nanoparticles grafted on banana leaves extract-modified graphitic carbon nitride [ PdNPs@g-C3N4-BLE] as a nanocatalyst. Further, the nanocatalyst showed enhanced activity, greater stability, and good selectivity in the reduction of various nitroarenes with the good to excellent yield under mild reaction conditions. In addition, PdNPs@g-C3N4-BLE nanocatalyst acts as an adsorbent and exhibited effective removal of a highly toxic, environmentally pervasive PFAS from wastewater through simple sorption method. [GRAPHICS] .