Preparation of PdAuCu/C as a Highly Active Catalyst for the Reduction of 4‐Nitrophenol by Controlling the Deposition of Noble Metals

Abstract The reasonable control of the dispersion of noble metals is an important topic for heterogeneous catalysts. In this manuscript, PdCu/C, AuCu/C and PdAuCu/C were prepared by the galvanic reduction method to ensure that Pd and Au follow the distribution of Cu nanoparticles. The catalysts were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy‐dispersive spectrometer elemental mappings and lines scans. Both the Pd and Au had very high dispersion no matter whether they were introduced individually or simultaneously. The Pd and Au were distributed mainly on the Cu nanoparticles as evidenced by the energy‐dispersive spectrometer elemental mappings and lines scans. The reduction of 4‐nitrophenol was used as a model reaction for the prepared catalysts. PdCu/C and AuCu/C showed high activity for this reaction compared to the literature, and the activity could be further increased by the introduction of Pd and Au in an appropriate ratio at the same time. The normalized reaction rate reached 2.005 s −1 mM −1 for the PdAuCu/C‐2.0, in which the mole ratio of Pd to Au was 2.0.