Highly Stable and Active Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on a Mesoporous UiO66@reduced Graphene Oxide Complex for Practical Catalytic Applications

A metal–organic framework-based composite with reduced graphene oxide was successfully designed, prepared and used for the first time as a support for Pd nanoparticles. The as-synthesized UiO66@RGO-Pd composite was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and N2 adsorption. The reduction of nitro compounds was used to demonstrate the catalytic efficiency, which showed excellent activity due to the large surface area and well-defined pore structure. Additionally, the Pd NPs confined in mesoporous cages could be readily recovered after simple filtration and reused for at least six consecutive cycles without loss of activity.