Galvanic Replacement-Assisted Synthesis of Cu–Ag Composite Membrane Catalysts for Potassium Ferricyanide Reduction
Rakisheva S.R. Nurpeisova D.T. Zhumabayev A.M. Parmanbek N. Barsbay M. Mashentseva A.A.
30 September 2025E.A. Buketov Karaganda University Publish house
Eurasian Journal of Chemistry
2025#30Issue 3129 - 142 pp.
This study investigates the catalytic properties of mono-and bimetallic composite track-etched membranes (CTeMs) fabricated using a galvanic replacement strategy. Two bimetallic architectures, Ag/Cu@PET and Cu/Ag@PET, were synthesized by sequentially depositing copper and silver onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) templates. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that doping Cu@PET with silver nanoparticles formed a substitutional solid solution (Ag₉₇Cu₃), which increased crystallinity by >45 % compared to monometallic Cu@PET. In contrast, doping Ag@PET with copper produced a two-layer tubular structure with phase-separated copper co-deposited along silver microtubes. The catalytic performance was evaluated through the pseudo-first-order reduction of potassium ferricyanide (PFC) by sodium borohydride. The Cu/Ag@PET composite with separate phases demonstrated superior activity, achieving 94.3 % PFC reduction within 40 minutes, significantly exceeding the performance of monometallic Ag@PET and Cu@PET. Kinetic analysis indicated that the rate constant and activation energy strongly depended on membrane structure and silver doping time in case of formation of substitutional solid solution phase. A minimum doping duration of 20 minutes was required for performance enhancement, with 30-minute Ag/Cu@PET samples reducing activation energy from 62.35 kJ/mol to 32.67 kJ/mol. These findings highlight the critical role of metal deposition order and structural configuration in optimizing catalytic activity, demonstrating the efficacy of galvanic replacement for designing high-performance, multi-metallic membrane catalysts.
bimetallic , composite , copper , galvanic replacement , photocatalysts , poly(ethylene terephthalate) , reduction , silver , track-etched membranes
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Technological Track-Etched Membranes Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ibragimov Street, 1, Almaty, 050032, Kazakhstan
Chemistry Department, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Satpayev street, 2, Astana, 010008, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemistry, Hacettepe University, Ankara, 06800, Turkey
Technological Track-Etched Membranes Laboratory
Chemistry Department
Department of Chemistry
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