High entropy nanoparticles of CoCrXFeNi (X=Al, Cu, Mn) loaded on activated carbon for efficient degradation of methylene blue
Yuyu Liu, Zheng Chen, Xiaoqin Yang, Jinyong Zhang, Zhonggang Sun, Yuzeng Chen, Feng Liu
Abstract
Different from the reported catalysts such as metallic glasses ribbons and ball-milled high entropy alloy powder, high entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA NPs) have attracted wide attention for compelling and functional catalytic properties to degrade methylene blue (MB) dye. CoCrXFeNi (X = Al, Cu, Mn) HEA NPs with different loadings were synthesized by impregnation-adsorption method on activated carbon (AC). Nanoscale HEA NPs with maximized configuration mixing entropy are composed of a single solid-solution face-centered cubic (FCC) phase and the nanocomposites show distinctive porous architectures and large specific surface area (average SBET = 632.7 m2/g) for 10 wt.% loadings. The reaction rates (kobs) of 10 wt.% CoCrAlFeNi and CoCrMnFeNi HEA NPs-AC for MB degradation are 0.1998 and 0.1830 min−1 and show comparable intrinsic catalytic performance to amorphous ribbons and HEA powders. The HEA NPs can effectively decompose MB molecule via nanoscale galvanic cell effect which provides a promising material in dye decomposition and mineralization.