Reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol using an efficient, cheap and simple technique to prepare spinel ferrites: A comparative study

Abstract

A successful reduction of p-nitrophenol was carried out on the surface of novel CuFe 2 O 4. Copper ferrite (CuFe 2 O 4) nanoparticles were prepared via simple co-precipitation reaction in presence of a capping agent. The prepared nanoparticles was investigated by DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter) and the crystalline structure and size were estimated by XRD (X-Ray diffraction). The experimental results have pointed out the high catalytic activity towards the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol (important intermediate for paracetamol and analgesic drugs) which improved greatly by using polymer as capping agent, where it exhibited several advantages such as low-cost, stability and rapid separation.