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Polyion complex micelles to stabilize gold nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

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Abstract

For the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) below 10 nm have high catalytic activity. However, AuNPs in aqueous solution or organic solvents are not stable in the absence of stabilizers. Here, we describe polyion complex (PIC) micelles as the stabilizer to prepare highly dispersed AuNPs for the first time. The preparation route is very gentle, easy, and reproducible. PIC micelles-stabilized AuNPs are approximately 8 nm in size and exhibit high catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The kinetic reaction rate constant is 0.51 min−1 with a good linear relationship. On the basis of their excellent colloidal stability and catalytic activity, PIC micelles-stabilized AuNPs are greatly hoped for further applications in catalysis.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51703209 and 21603196), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (No. 2017CFB217), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (Nos. CUG170601 and CUGL170406).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Yu Dai & Xiaojin Zhang

  2. Engineering Research Center of Nano-Geo Materials of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Yu Dai & Xiaojin Zhang

  3. Wuhan Electric Power Technical College, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Tao Ren & Ying Wang

Authors
  1. Yu Dai
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  2. Tao Ren
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  3. Ying Wang
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  4. Xiaojin Zhang
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Correspondence to Xiaojin Zhang.

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Dai, Y., Ren, T., Wang, Y. et al. Polyion complex micelles to stabilize gold nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Gold Bull 51, 21–26 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-017-0225-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-017-0225-9

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