Catalytic Activity of Bimetallic (Ruthenium/Palladium) Nano-alloy Decorated Porous Carbons Toward Reduction of Toxic Compounds.

Chicken feather-derived high-surface-area porous activated carbon (CFAC) material was prepared using chemical activation. A new composite composed of Ru-Pd nanoparticles supported on CFAC (Ru-Pd@CFAC) has been prepared by microwave-thermal reduction in the presence of the support. Characterization by XRD, Raman, BET, FE-SEM/TEM, FT-IR, TGA, XPS, HAADF-STEM-EDS, H2 -chemisorption, H2 -TPR, and ICP-AES was used to analyze the catalyst. This catalyst is found to be efficient for the reduction of hexavalent chromium (CrVI ), potassium ferricyanide (K3 [Fe(CN)6 ]), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), and pendimethalin (PDM), at room temperature, and remains stable, even after several repeated runs. Moreover, it showed excellent catalytic activity compared with the monometallic counterparts.