One-Pot Synthesis of Stable Cu-Based Core-Shell Catalysts for High-Performance Heterogenous Catalysis

Abstract

Copper (Cu)-based nanoparticle catalysts, a series of non-noble metal nanoparticle catalysts, have attracted much attention due to their abundance and low cost. However, Cu nanoparticles are highly susceptible to aggregation and oxidation, which makes them difficult to be reused, limiting their performance and application potential. Here we introduce an efficient one-pot synthesis of Cu-based core-shell catalysts via a combination of impregnation and in situ post-calcination. The construction of hierarchically porous core-shell carbon structures effectively prevents the agglomeration and complete oxidation of Cu nanoparticles, and the catalysts exhibited excellent catalytic performance and stability in 4-nitrophenol reduction and benzyl alcohol oxidation reactions. Overall, this simple and fast synthesis strategy provides a novel design for synthesizing Cu nanoparticle catalysts with high activity and stability.

Keywords: Copper nanoparticle, One-pot strategy, Core-shell structure, Heterogenous Catalysis, high stability