Abstract
A very simple and low-cost procedure has been adopted to synthesize efficient copper (Cu), silver (Ag) and copper-silver (Cu-Ag) mixed nanoparticles on the surface of pure cellulose acetate (CA) and cellulose acetate-copper oxide nanocomposite (CA-Cuo). All nanoparticles loaded onto CA and CA-CuO presented excellent catalytic ability, but Cu-Ag nanoparticles loaded onto CA-CuO (Cu-0-Ag-0/CA-CuO) exhibited outstanding catalytic efficiency to convert 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) into 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of NaBH4. Additionally, the Cu-0-Ag-0/CA-CuO can be easily recovered by removing the sheet from the reaction media, and can be recycled several times, maintaining high catalytic ability for four cycles. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.