Abstract

The hunt for low-cost, high-efficiency catalysts has long been a priority in wastewater treatment and organic transformation. In this study, CuNi bimetallic nanoparticles embedded in the cages of mesoporous silica support catalyst (CuNi@SBA-15) was prepared for the efficient reduction of nitroaromatics (NAs) and organic dyes. The CuNi@SBA-15 catalyst revealed superior activity for 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction than other two monometallic counterparts. Moreover, CuNi@SBA-15 catalyst exhibited significant activity for the degradation of other NAs and dyes, including 2-nitrophenol (2-NP), 4-(4-nitrophenyl)morpholine (4-NM), 4-nitroaniline (4-NA), 4-(2-fluoro-4-nitrophenyl)morpholine (4-FNM)), rhodamine B (RhB), congo red (CR), methyl orange (MO) and eosin Y (EY), respectively. Furthermore, CuNi@SBA-15 exhibited stability for the reduction of 4-NP for up to 4 catalytic cycles, after that the catalytic activity was decreased because of the metal leaching phenomenon. Additionally, we have also extended our scope of work for the simultaneous degradation of the combination of 4NP, RhB, CR, EY and MO by CuNi@SBA-15 catalyst. Further, CuNi@SBA-15 catalyst incorporated into the fixed- bed system for 4-NP reduction and simultaneous degradation of the mixture of 4-NP, CR, RhB, EY, MO in continuous-flow mode. CuNi@SBA-15 was also evaluated its reduction ability in different environmental water samples (packed drinking, sea and river water samples). Their high catalytic activity make them ideal for removing and degrading contaminants, improving water quality and promoting sustainable water management.