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The synergistic effect of nitrogen atoms and triblock structure on stabilizing gold nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

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Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) play an important role in catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. To obtain highly dispersed and stable AuNPs, the stabilizer is required. In this work, core-shell-corona polymeric micelles prepared by self-assembly of the commercial ABC triblock polymer poly(ethylene oxide-b-2-vinyl pyridine-b-styrene) (abbreviated to PEO-b-P2VP-b-PS) were explored as an excellent stabilizer of AuNPs. PEO-b-P2VP-b-PS-stabilized AuNPs with the diameter of approximately 7 nm were prepared through chemical reduction of Au ions in aqueous medium at mild conditions. The preparation was environmentally friendly without using any organic solvents and suitable for commercial process without heat. PEO-b-P2VP-b-PS-stabilized AuNPs had high catalytic activity for chemical reduction of 4-nitrophenol. The results of stability and catalytic activity indicated that nitrogen atoms and triblock structure of PEO-b-P2VP-b-PS had synergistic effect on stabilizing AuNPs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21603196), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (No. 2015CFB697), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (No. CUG170601), and the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing (Wuhan University of Technology).

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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

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  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. The synergistic effect of nitrogen atoms and triblock structure on stabilizing gold nanoparticles for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Gold Bull 50, 123–129 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-017-0204-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13404-017-0204-1

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