Facile Synthesis and Environmental Applications of Noble Metal-Based Catalytic Membrane Reactors

Noble metal nanoparticle-loaded catalytic membrane reactors (CMRs) have emerged as a promising method for water decontamination. In this study, we proposed convenient and green strategy to prepare gold nanoparticle (Au NPs)-loaded CMRs. First, the redox-active substrate (CNT-MoS2) composed of carbon nanotube (CNT) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) was prepared by an impregnation method. Water-diluted Au(III) precursor (HAuCl4) then spontaneously adsorbed on CNT-MoS2 only through filtration reduced into Au(0) nanoparticles in situ, which involved “adsorption–reduction” process between MoS2. The constructed CNT-MoS2@Au demonstrated excellent activity stability, where complete 4-nitrophenol transformation can be obtained within hydraulic residence time <3.0 s. addition, thanks electroactivity CNT networks, as-designed CMR could also applied electrocatalytic reduction bromate (>90%) at voltage −1 V. More importantly, changing precursors, one further obtain other noble metal-based (e.g., CNT-MoS2@Pd) with superior (electro)catalytic activity. This study provided new insights rational design high-performance CMRs toward various environmental applications.