Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE, cilt.1349, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Spent automotive catalytic converters are valuable secondary sources of platinum group metals (PGMs), including palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and rhodium (Rh), due to their widespread use and limited natural reserves. Efficient recovery and reuse of these metals are crucial for sustainable catalyst development. This study aims to recover Pd from waste ceramic-based catalytic converters and synthesize a novel yolk-shell nanocatalyst for environmental applications. Pd was selectively extracted using a hydrometallurgical leaching process followed by urea complexation, achieving a recovery efficiency of 92.6 %. The Pd-urea complex was thermally decomposed to deposit a uniform monolayer of nano-Pd on fullerene (C60), forming a yolk-shell structured catalyst (YSF-Pd). Structural and morphological characterization via XRD, SEM-EDX, HR-TEM, ICP-OES, and HAADF-STEM confirmed the successful formation of the yolk-shell architecture with homogenous Pd distribution. The catalytic activity of YSF-Pd was evaluated in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP), achieving over 99 % conversion within 3.5 min and exhibiting excellent recyclability over five cycles. These results demonstrate a dual benefit: effective recycling of waste PGMs and the fabrication of a highperformance nanocatalyst with potential applications in environmental remediation and green chemistry.