Microwell Confined Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Honeycomblike Carbon Spheres for the Adsorption of Sb(III) and Sequential Utilization as a Catalyst

The composites of mesoporous carbon nanospheres with iron oxides ( [email protected] 2 O 3 ) have been developed for the removal of antimony in water. The good performance of [email protected] 2 O 3 is attributed to the honeycomblike structure, which is composed of active Fe 2 O 3 particles dispersedly confined in the microtunnel of the carbon nanospheres. This adsorbent takes advantage of the high adsorption capacity and ease of preparation. It provides a high removal rate for low concentrated Sb(III) and high removal capacity for high concentrated Sb(III). Furthermore, the used adsorbent has been developed into a catalyst for the transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes, and the catalyst exhibited good activity and inherited magnetic recyclability. This has proven to be a promising way to avoid secondary pollution.