Biopolymer Xanthan Gum as Promising Template for Facile Synthesis of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles and Application as Reusable Catalyst for Reduction of Nitroaromatic Compounds

Abstract Herein, we report first time the biopolymer xanthan gum as template for facile synthesis of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles via co-precipitation method using ultrasonication technique. The formation of nanosized particles of CeO2 in the range of 11-32 nm with précised size and shape, as evidenced from morphological analysis. Further the polymer xanthan gum offers a versatile platform to control the morphological features and thereby the catalytic activity of CeO2. The prominent peaks in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at 82.50, 889.10, 898.50, 900.90, 907.50, and 916.60 eV binding energies confirmed the presence of Ce4+ in CeO2 with no traces of template material. The significant catalytic activity of CeO2 for the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds was observed with pseudo first order rate constants 0.1118 and 0.3318 min-1 for nitrobenzene and 2-nitrophenol respectively. The remarkable stability and high performance of CeO2 were demonstrated even after four catalytic runs for nitrobenzene, affirmed the catalytic support potential of CeO2 for reduction of nitroaromatic compounds.