Issue 68, 2016

Reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticle aerogel for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Abstract

Currently, it is of great significance and a challenge to develop facile synthetic routes to obtain a novel plasmonic heterogeneous catalyst with high activity and long lifetime for the reduction of a refractory organic compound like 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). To this end, a three-dimensional (3D) porous framework named reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticle aerogel (rGO/Au NPA) was constructed by individual GO sheets and HAuCl4 under the reduction of trisodium citrate dihydrate (Na3Cit) via a one-step hydrothermal method. The abundant Au NPs having a diameter of 7–160 nm can be easily in situ incorporated into graphene sheets to form a 3D hierarchical monolith by the reduction of Na3Cit, which was well-disclosed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Such 3D rGO/Au NPA with interconnected porous structure displays a good thermal stability and large Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area of 37.8325 m2 g−1. More importantly, the fabricated rGO/Au NPA can act as a heterogeneous catalyst, exhibiting an outstanding catalytic activity and good reusability towards the reduction of 4-NP due to the synergetic effect between Au NPs and graphene sheets. Additionally, the mechanism of enhanced catalytic efficiency for the 3D rGO/Au NPA catalyst has also been proposed.

Graphical abstract: Reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticle aerogel for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Apr 2016
Accepted
28 Jun 2016
First published
30 Jun 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 64028-64038

Reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticle aerogel for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

X. Cao, S. Yan, F. Hu, J. Wang, Y. Wan, B. Sun and Z. Xiao, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 64028 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA09386H

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