Efficient catalytic activity of ionic liquid-supported NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticle doped Titanium Dioxide nano-composite

Abstract

In this work the author disclose an effective and environment-friendly approach to the preparation of an ionic liquid supported, magnetic nanoparticle doped titanium oxide nanocomposite. The novel ionic liquid N-(2′, 3′-epoxypropyl)-N-methyl-2- pyrrolidonium salicylate was first synthesized and characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, elemental Analysis and FTIR. It was subsequently used for the preparation of a composite material by traditional protocols. This ionic liquid is able to connect the NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles with titanium dioxide via strong ionic liquid interactions. The composite was characterized by FT-IR, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDS) analysis, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Diffraction studies (DF). The catalytic activities of these composites were assessed by the reduction of nitro aniline with the aid of UV spectroscopy. Furthermore, the composite material was easily recovered and re-used with negligible loss of its catalytical activity.