Green synthesis of bimetallic Pt@Cu nanostructures for catalytic oxidative desulfurization of model oil

This study reports the synthesis of bimetallic pt@cu nanostructures at elevated temperature of 100 c using alchornea laxiflora leaf extract (alle). the nanostructures have been characterized using uv–vis spectroscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (hrtem), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir), energy dispersive x-ray(edx) spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction (xrd) techniques. the sizes of the bimetallic pt@cu nanostructures range from 1.87 to 2.38 nm with an average particle size of 2.12 ± 0.21 nm, and they crystallized in face-centered cubic (fcc) symmetry. the edx analysis confirms the bimetallism of pt@cu nanostructures and individual metals are present in the ratio 2:3. ftir indicates strong peaks at 3427 cm-1 which is attributed to hydroxyl group of polyphenolic compounds in alle, and the peak disappeared completely in the ftir of pt@cu nanostructures, thus confirming their significant roles in bioreduction process. catalytic oxidative property of pt@cu nanostructures was investigated by oxidation of a model oil [dibenzothiophene (dbt) dissolved in n-heptane] to their corresponding sulfone. our results show that bimetallic pt@cu nanostructures have higher catalytic oxidative activity than the conventional acetic acid that is used in the oxidative desulfurization process. the catalytic oxidative desulfurization activity shown by the pt@cu nanostructures promises the potential application in petroleum industry.