One-Pot Green Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of Bismuth/Reduced Graphene Oxide (Bi/rGO) Nanocomposite Using Lemon Juice

Abstract

A facile, cost-effective, and one-pot green strategy was introduced to prepare a nanocomposite (Bi/rGO) of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) decorated with bismuth nanoparticles (BiNPs) using lemon juice as a reducing agent. Simultaneous reduction of Bi3+ to BiNPs and GO to rGO produced the Bi/rGO nanocomposite consisting of 20-50 nm of BiNPs and a few layers of exfoliated rGO sheets. The obtained Bi/rGO nanocomposite showed excellent catalytic efficacy for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in the presence of sodium borohydride.