Simple fabrication of bimetallic platinum-rhodium alloyed nano-multipods: A highly effective and recyclable catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol and rhodamine B

Abstract Water pollution caused by organic pollutants has aroused great concern to earth sustainability in the last several decades. Herein, a facile one-pot solvothermal approach was developed to construct bimetallic platinum-rhodium alloyed nano-multipods (PtRh ANMPs) in oleylamine (OAm) by adopting creatinine and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) as the co-structure-directing agents. The as-fabricated nanocatalyst exhibited extraordinary catalytic behaviors towards 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and rhodamine B (RhB) reduction by sodium borohydride (NaBH4). Impressively, the resultant catalyst showed highly facilitated rate constant (k: 0.209/0.354 min−1) and turnover frequency (TOF: 1.0 × 10−3/0.44 × 10−3 mol g−1 min−1) towards 4-NP and RhB reduction in comparison with commercial Pt black under the same conditions. This research offers some valuable insights for facile preparation of advanced nanostructures as efficient and recyclable catalyst in environmental remediation field.