In-situ growth of uniform palladium nanoparticles in polythiosemicarbazide membranes for enhanced catalytic reduction and dye degradation

This work introduces a novel strategy for embedding palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) within a polythiosemicarbazide (PTSC) polymeric membrane, achieving non-agglomerated, uniformly dispersed nanoparticles. The PTSC's unique architecture, featuring a single chelation site per monomer, ensures an abundance of absorption sites, enabling the reduction of metal ions into well-dispersed PdNPs with an average size of 2.3 nm. This approach maximizes the nanoparticle loading capacity while maintaining consistent distribution throughout the membrane matrix. The resulting PdNP-embedded membrane exhibits exceptional catalytic activity, effectively facilitating the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol and the degradation of methyl orange dye. Dynamic catalytic processes significantly outperform batch methods, achieving an 80 % conversion of 4-NP to 4-AP seven times faster, and a 70 % degradation of MO in just 20 min, demonstrating an 18-fold efficiency improvement. With only a 1 % PdNPs loading, this system effectively overcomes diffusion limitations, underscoring its potential for scalable applications in environmental catalysis and advanced water treatment technologies. This study not only demonstrates the efficacy of PTSC membranes in catalytic applications but also highlights the broader potential for incorporating uniformly dispersed nanoparticles in polymer matrices for enhanced performance in various chemical engineering processes.