The highly-efficient carbon nanofibers supported CexOy–Pd NPs catalyst for catalyzing the Heck reaction by the electrospinning technique, hydrogenation reduction and subsequent calcination processes were prepared. The CexOy–Pd NPs/CNFs have enhanced catalytic activity compared with the Pd NPs/CNFs. The CexOy could play an auxiliary role in the catalytic process.

•The g-C3N4 wrapping on CNFs carrier to form g-C3N4/CNFs, which was prepared successfully.•The g-C3N4/CNFs can be easily used in the next reaction because of the existence of CNFs membrane.•The g-C3N4/CNFs prepared by gas-solid method make the g-C3N4 can load on CNFs uniformly.•The g-C3N4/CNFs exhibited excellent adsorption performance and photocatalytic activity to various organic dyes.A composite catalyst that graphite carbon nitride/carbon nanofibers (g-C3N4/CNFs) was successfully prepared through electrospinning technology, high-temperature calcination process and gas-solid method. The morphology and structure of g-C3N4/CNFs were investigated through some characteristics, indicating the composite that g-C3N4 wrapping on one-dimensional carbon fiber has been synthesized successfully. Furthermore, the experiments for degradation of different dyes with the photocatalyst under the irradiation of UV and visible light were carried out, showing that the composite catalyst has the synergy effects of adsorption and photocatalysis which are belonged to CNFs and g-C3N4 respectively. Furthermore, the recycle experiments of the catalyst for degrading dyes under the UV and visible light irradiation were also carried out and indicated that the catalyst had an excellent stability and cycle performance. Above all, as-prepared g-C3N4/CNFs catalyst had a potential appliance value in the degradation of organic pollutants in water.

Ni(0) porous carbon nanofibers (Ni(0)/PCNFs) were successfully synthesized by a simple electrospinning technique with subsequent process of reduction and calcination. The as-prepared continuous Ni(0)/PCNFs which had a uniform particles diameter of 5 nm and porous structure were adopted as a catalyst in Heck reaction, which effectively improved the conversion and the selectivity of the product. Compared with Ni(0) supported on carbon nanofibers, the solid nanoporous catalyst obviously increases the efficiency of Heck reaction and also does not require ligands. Though five recycles, the catalyst remained a high catalytic activity.

•The Pd NPs/CNFs complex catalyst was prepared.•Pd nanoparticles were well-dispersed on/in the carbon nanofibers.•This catalyst showed high catalytic activity for the Suzuki reaction.•The catalyst had good stability.In this work, the preparation of the palladium nanoparticles with carbon nanofibers (Pd NPs/CNFs) catalyst for the Suzuki reaction was described. In the process, palladium nanoparticles were formed in the reaction of palladium chloride and glucose. The Pd NPs/CNFs complex catalyst was prepared in subsequent calcination processes, a series of characterization revealed that the Pd NPs were well-dispersed on the surfaces of the carbon nanofibers or embedded in the carbon nanofibers. This catalyst showed high catalytic activity for the Suzuki reaction of aryl halide and aryl boronic acid in the ethanol/water (v/v = 4/3) solution, and the catalyst still had good stability after 10 cycles.

•A highly visible-light responsive AgITiO2/PAN composite had been successfully synthesized.•AgITiO2/PAN were presented in membrane forms, showed a highly photocatalytic activity in degrading MO.•The as-prepared composites had an excellent stability and photostability in the photocatalytic cycling tests.A highly visible-light responsive AgITiO2/PAN had been successfully synthesized by the electrospinning technique, hydrogenation reduction, solvothermal synthesis, and gas/solid oxidation. The component and morphology of the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In the degradation experiments, the as-prepared AgITiO2/PAN showed a highly photocatalytic activity in degrading methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation and the AgI content had a strong effect in their photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the degradation efficiency of MO over AgITiO2/PAN was much higher as compared to that of pure PAN, AgI/PAN and TiO2/PAN, which was attributed to the synergistic effect between AgI and TiO2. Besides, AgITiO2/PAN had an excellent stability in the cycling tests due to the intimate connect and stable heterostructure of AgITiO2. It’s astonished to find that the application of PAN nanofibers, which presented in membranous form, made it easy separate the catalysts from an aqueous solution without any loss.

We developed a facile and new method for the production of a 4A-zeolite supported silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) composite catalyst using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). The small (3–6 nm) and highly dispersed silver nanoparticles were formed on the 4A-zeolite with the assistance of scCO2 and hydrogen reduction. The anchored Ag NPs are smaller in size and more uniform in distribution on the 4A-zeolite, and favor a wide range of physical and chemical properties. In order to test the properties of the synthesized composite catalyst, the selective oxidation of styrene was introduced into the experiment. The composite catalyst synthesized by this new method exhibited excellent catalytic properties in the selective oxidation reaction of styrene compared with previous reports. Furthermore, two kinds of important chemical product, styrene oxide (SO) and benzaldehyde (BZ), could be controlled selectively by changing the oxidants and solvents used.

CNFs-Pd attached to the inner wall of a glass reactor, designated as G-reactor@Ag-CNFs-Pd, has been successfully constructed. First, the inner wall of the non-conductive glass reactor was covered by silver used the silver mirror reaction, so this G-reactor@Ag could be used to collect PdCl2/PAN nanofibers. The fabricated G-reactor@Ag-CNFs-Pd exhibited a yield of 80% in Suzuki reaction within 5 h. The construction of G-reactor@Ag-CNFs-Pd will make a good contribution to design heterogeneous catalyst in a wide range of applications.

Nickel, as an inexpensive and abundant transition metal, is widely used in the field of catalysis. A novel one-dimensional carbon nanofiber-supported Ni(0) composite catalyst (Ni(0)/CNFs) was prepared in this work, and its catalytic properties in the Heck reaction were explored. Compared with conventional nickel–ligand catalyst systems, the solid Ni(0)/CNFs composite catalyst has unique advantages. Ni(0)/CNFs does not require ligands or complexes, which results in high efficiency and is beneficial for reuse in the Heck reaction.

•A facile and green method was developed for production of composite catalyst using supercritical carbon dioxide.•The Ag NPs which had a narrow distribution (3–6 nm) were highly dispersed on the 4A-zeolite with the assistance of scCO2.•The composite catalyst were applied to styrene epoxidation reaction which catalytic activity was proved high effectively.In this paper, the silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were uniformly distributed to the 4A-zeolite via supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as the capping agents. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) detection of composite catalyst displayed that the Ag NPs had a narrow size distribution (3–6 nm). Catalytic property evaluation resulting showed the excellent catalytic activity of the Ag NPs/4A-zeolite samples. The high conversion of styrene and the superior selectivity of styrene oxide (SO) were shown to us when tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) was used as the oxidant in short reaction time. Solvents effects played a important role in the reaction, and acetonitrile was the optimal solvent for the styrene epoxidation via the investigation of solvents.A facile and environmental friendly method is developed for production of 4A-zeolite supported silver nanoparticles composite material using supercritical carbon dioxide technology. The small size and highly dispersed silver nanoparticles are formed on the 4A-zeolite, and the composite material exhibit the excellent catalytic properties in the styrene epoxidation.

•AgBrTiO2/CNFs possess high photocatalytic activity in degrading different organic dyes.•The prepared catalysts have excellent recyclable and renewable performance.•AgBrTiO2/CNFs can be used as a potential materials for wastewater treatment.Novel carbon nanofibers (CNFs) modified by AgBrTiO2 composite nanoparticles (NPs) would be the most desirable nanostructure materials in preparing visible-driven catalysts because of its efficient charge separation and transport properties as well as superior light harvesting efficiency. In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles grown directly on Ag/CNFs were prepared by a simple solvothermal synthesis. The formation of AgBr, which derived from Ag NPs, was carried out by the gas/solid oxidization reaction. The characterization results indicate that AgBr-sensitized TiO2 NPs were uniformly covered on the surface of CNFs. Under visible light irradiation, the degradation efficiency of MO in the presence of AgBrTiO2/CNFs was much higher than that of TiO2/CNFs or AgTiO2/CNFs, and the as-prepared catalysts showed a universal degradation ability for different organics. Meanwhile, AgBrTiO2/CNFs had a certain photochemical stability and could be regenerated easily. The as-prepared composites could be easily separated from the solution phase due to the large length-diameter ratio of CNFs, suggesting that the AgBr-sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles loading on carbon nanofibers had a potential application in the field of dye degradation.AgBrTiO2/CNFs was fabricated by a series of self-assembly method including in-situ reduction, electrospinning, solvothermal, and gas/solid oxidation. The prepared catalysts were applied in degrading organic dyes under visible light irradiation.

The palladium nanoparticles/carbon nanofibers (Pd NPs/CNFs) catalyst was prepared by the electrospinning method, the hydrazine hydrate solution reduction in an ice bath environment, the high temperature carbonization. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanofibers are not cross-linked and arranged in order. The surface of Pd NPs/CNFs is smooth, and it can be observed that a large number of particles were loaded and well-dispersed in carbon fiber matrix, and the particle distribution is uniform. The activity center of catalyst is Pd(0). The Pd NPs/CNFs exhibited a high efficiency, good reusability and stability in the Suzuki and Heck reactions. It can be used for at least five consecutive runs without significant loss of its catalytic activity. The good recyclability of Pd NPs/CNFs provides a way to greatly reduce the cost of the catalyst.The palladium nanoparticles/carbon nanofibers (Pd NPs/CNFs) catalyst was prepared by the electrospinning method, hydrazine hydrate solution reduction in an ice bath environment, and the high temperature carbonization. The catalyst is a highly active catalyst for Suzuki and Heck reactions and it can be used for at least five consecutive runs without significant loss of its catalytic activity.

•Layered g-C3N4 nanosheets grown on CNFs carrier to form g-C3N4/CNFs, which was prepared successfully.•The g-C3N4/CNFs can be easily used in the next reaction because of the existence of CNFs membrane.•The g-C3N4 is presented in layer could adhere on CNFs tightly to carry out the cyclic reactions.•The g-C3N4/CNFs exhibited excellent adsorption performance and photocatalytic activity to various organic dyes.A composite catalyst that layered graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets adhered on electrospun carbon fibers (CFs) carrier was prepared, and this catalyst occupied the efficient photocatalytic activity. The carbon fiber was obtained through electrospinning technology and high-temperature calcination process. The layered g-C3N4 nanosheets was derived through the direct heating and ultrasonic exfoliation. After that, the g-C3N4/CFs were successfully synthesized in the hydrothermal process. In the process of degradation, composites had the capacity of degradation to different organic dyes under the UV-light irradiation, meanwhile, catalyst had excellent capacity of adsorption and a certain recycling performance. Thus, g-C3N4/CFs catalyst has potential appliance value in the degradation of organic pollutants.

A highly efficient visible light-driven AgX–TiO2/PAN (X = Br, I) photocatalyst was synthesized by means of a combination of the electrospinning technique, solvothermal synthesis, physical adsorption and gas/solid reaction. The components, morphological and optical properties of the photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The as-prepared composites exhibited excellent photocatalytic efficiency for the degradation of methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB), acid red 18, sodium fluorescein, xylenol orange and phenol under visible light irradiation. Compared with pure PAN, AgX/PAN and TiO2/PAN, AgX–TiO2/PAN showed much higher photocatalytic activity in degrading MO. In addition, AgX–TiO2/PAN had a certain photochemical stability and could be regenerated easily. The application of PAN nanofibers made it easy to separate the catalysts from an aqueous solution without any loss. The degradation of MO in the presence of different scavengers suggested that holes and ˙O2− were the main reactive species and holes played the predominant role. Thus, a possible two-stage photocatalytic mechanism associated with AgX–TiO2/PAN was proposed.

A Pd-based catalyst directly attached on the inner surface of the reactor as a new catalytic system has been achieved and developed via an electrospinning technique followed by an impregnation–reduction and a simple carbonization process. The application of the reactor was demonstrated using the Heck reaction. This work showed many potential advantages in numerous fields.

Two kinds of metal oxide–silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) embedded in carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were prepared by electrospinning followed by calcination. The resulted nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It indicated that MgO–Ag NPs and Al2O3–Ag NPs were well-distributed in the CNFs. This effective synthesis method can be used to prepare other composite nanofibers with functionality. MgO–Ag NPs–CNFs and Al2O3–Ag NPs–CNFs served as supported catalysts were used in the styrene epoxidation by TBHP. The Al2O3–Ag NPs–CNFs catalyst showed its high catalytic activity for the epoxidation of styrene (conversion: 46.45%, styrene oxide (SO) selectivity: 34.45%), as compared with the MgO–Ag NPs–CNFs catalyst. The addition of MgO or Al2O3 had the effect of a promoter in the catalyst system. These kinds of composite nanofiber membranes have proven effective catalytic activity and recyclability in the styrene epoxidation.

A range of calcium metasilicate–silver promoted-anatase (Ag–TiO2–CaSiO3) photocatalysts was obtained by photoreduction and physisorption methods. The calcium metasilicate (CaSiO3) materials were prepared by chemical precipitation technology. The structure and morphology of photocatalysts were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization methods. The results show that the anatase (TiO2) and silver promoted-anatase (Ag–TiO2) particles were evenly distributed on the surface of calcium silicate material. After the activity of photocatalysts was evaluated through the degradation rate of methyl orange (MO), the results showed that the 4% Ag–TiO2/CaSiO3 products have higher activity during the reaction, and the products showed excellent reusability after that these were repeated five times. The sample of Ag–TiO2/CaSiO3 exhibits activity of MO degradation under visible light (λ >400 nm) because of the active sites of Ag nanoparticles. The novel composite photocatalysts might have potential applications in the treatment of environmental pollution.

•Novel Ag NPs/carbon composite nanofibers were prepared.•Ag NPs were monodispersed and uniformly distributed in the carbon nanofibers.•The composite nanofibers showed good catalytic activity in the styrene epoxidation.The composite nanofibers Ag nanoparticles/carbon nanofibers (Ag NPs/CNFs) were fabricated by electrospinning and high-temperature calcination technology. In the process, AgNO3/PAN (polyacrylonitrile)/DMF solutions were used as spinning solution precursor and hydrogen as reducing agent. The as-prepared fibers were characterized by infrared absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The result indicated that the Ag NPs (10–30 nm) were well-distributed in the CNFs. The catalytic activity of the Ag NPs/CNFs composite nanofibers were measured in the styrene epoxidation. The Ag NPs/CNFs supported catalyst suggested high catalytic activity in the styrene epoxidation.

A carbon nanofibers (CNFs)-supported palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) catalyst was fabricated by the combination of electrospinning, gas-phase hydrogenation reduction and subsequent calcination processes. Extensive characterization of the resulting carbon nanofibers-supported palladium nanoparticles catalyst was carried out. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) images reveal that the spherical Pd NPs are well-dispersed on the surfaces of the carbon matrix or embedded in the carbon matrix without agglomerating. The cubic phase of Pd formed during the reduction and carbonization processes. Most importantly, this carbon nanofibers-supported palladium nanoparticles hybrid material exhibited enhanced activity, excellent stabilization and recyclability.

Well-dispersed palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) were prepared under the condition that trisodium citrate was the reduction agent and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was the stabilizing agent via sol-gel process. By making good use of the advanced electrospinning technology we obtained Pd NPs/PVP composite nanofibers films. Optical properties were examined by UV-visible absorbance spectra (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphology and distribution of Pd NPs in/on PVP matrix were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that Pd NPs presented as spherical spots and distributed in/on PVP nanofibers uniformly; their diameter was 4–10 nm and decreased with the increase of PVP. The as-prepared Pd NPs/PVP hybrid mats possess catalytic activity, stability and reusability, as verified by performance in Heck reaction.

Ag nanoparticle-embedded one-dimensional β-CD (β-cyclodextrin)/PVP composite nanofibers were prepared using a one-step electrospinning technique. Ag nanoparticles were obtained in the AgNO3/β-CD/DMF solution, in which silver nitrate been introduced as the precursor, DMF as solvent, β-CD as reducing and capping agent. After electrospinning of the composite solution at room temperature, the β-CD/PVP nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles were obtained. The electrospun composite solution containning Ag nsnopsrticles were confirmed by UV-visible absorption spectra; the resulting composite nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy , transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Ag-β-CD/PVP nanofiber exhibits good antibacterial property for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Consequently, we propose that these Ag nanoparticle-embedded 1D-nanostructures prepared via electrospinning may be used as antibacterial material.

•A novel nanofiber was designed and synthesized with glucose and PAN by electrospinning, which was employed as a platform and reductant.•The free state of copper was attracted onto the nanofibers and was reduced simultaneously with glucose through hydrothermal process.•This prepared catalyst showed excellent catalytic activity in the N-arylation reaction with different substrates.Glucose was dispersed in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers to develop a novel supporter for reducing and anchoring Cu0 by hydrothermal process. The newly developed catalyst was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and amorphous Cu0 were obtained. The prepared Cu0 nanocatalyst was investigated as a heterogeneous catalyst for N-arylation reaction of N-heterocyclic compounds and a wide range of aryl iodides including iodobenzene, electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides, which performed excellent catalytic activity.The preparation of the catalyst is shown in the above figure. As is shown above, a novel nanofiber was designed and synthesized with glucose and PAN by electrospinning, which was employed as a platform and reductant. Then a certain amount of ammonia water was added drop wise to the copper nitrate solution to form copper ammonia complex ion ([Cu(NH3)4]2+), and the [Cu(NH3)4]2+ was attracted to the nanofibers and was simultaneously reduced by glucose on the fibers.Download full-size image