Synthesis of Nano Cu(0)‐Loaded CoFe ₂ O ₄ as Magnetic Catalyst for the Rapid Reduction of 4‐Nitrophenol to 4‐Aminophenol

ABSTRACT 4‐nitrophenol is one of the most common aromatic organic compounds widely used across various industrial sectors. Due to its high chemical stability and significant toxicity, the presence of this compound in industrial wastewater poses a threat to both the environment and human health. Recently, the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol to the less toxic and pharmaceutically valuable product, 4‐aminophenol, has gained considerable attention. In this study, magnetic Cu(0)‐loaded CoFe 2 O 4 (CFO) nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple precipitation–reduction method and then applied as recoverable catalysts for the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol. The impact of different Cu(0) contents on catalytic activity was also investigated. The results demonstrate that these composite materials exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity compared to the reaction without catalyst. Among them, the CFO/Cu‐5 sample exhibited the best performance, achieving complete conversion of 4‐nitrophenol to 4‐aminophenol within just 1.5 min, with a pseudo‐first‐order rate constant of 2.527 min −1 . These materials also show ferromagnetic properties, which allow them to be easily recovered by an external magnet and reused for at least five cycles.