Abstract
The design of nanostructures based on poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) and metal nanoparticles is becoming an important research topic due to their multiple functionalities in different fields, including nanomedicine and catalysis. In this work, water-soluble gold nanoparticles have been prepared through a green aqueous synthesis method using Pluronic F127 as both reducing and stabilizing agents. The size dependence (varying from 2 to 70 nm) and stability of gold nanoparticles were systematically studied by varying some parameters of synthesis, which were the polymer concentration, temperature, and exposure to UV-A light, being monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy and TEM. Also, an elaborated study regarding to the kinetic of formation (nucleation and growth) was presented. Finally, the as-prepared Pluronic-capped gold nanoparticles have shown excellent catalytic activity towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol with sodium borohydride, in which a higher catalytic performance was exhibited when compared with gold nanoparticles prepared by classical reduction method using sodium citrate.
Synthesis of catalytically active gold nanostructures mediated by a pluronic triblock copolymer
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Funding
The authors are thankful to the CMNano-UFS (Project no. 63) for the TEM analysis, CNPq (Process no. 476674/2013-1), Capes, and Fapitec for financial support. G.R.S.A. received a scholarship from Capes (PNPD/2016).
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Santos, D.C., de Souza, V.C., Vasconcelos, D.A. et al. Triblock copolymer-mediated synthesis of catalytically active gold nanostructures. J Nanopart Res 20, 105 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4212-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4212-8