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Au nanoparticle decorated N-containing polymer spheres: additive-free synthesis and remarkable catalytic behavior for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

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Abstract

We demonstrated a simple, one-step route for assembling Au nanoparticles (NPs) on N-containing polymer nanospheres through in situ reductive growth process.Using resorcinol–melamine–formaldehyde resin nanospheres (RMF NSs) as a functional platform, neither a surfactant/ligand nor pretreatment is needed in the synthetic process of Au@RMF NSs hybrid nanostructure. When used as a catalytic media for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol, the Au@RMF NSs hybrid nanostructures show significantly enhanced catalytic performance than the ever reported Au-based catalyst. The absorption modal of 4-NP on this nanostructure is also discussed by theoretical calculations using density functional theory. The calculated results verify the preferential capture of 4-NP by the N-containing functionalities of RMF NSs, which is critical step for the acceleration of Au-based catalytic reaction kinetics, leading to the remarkable improved catalytic behavior. The superior features of RMF NSs as well as minimal economical cost compared with other polymer and non-polymer will promote further interest in the field of N-containing catalysis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21101141 and 51202223), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Universities (NCET), the Open Project Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparation Chemistry of Jilin University (2012-13).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Material Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, People’s Republic of China

    Shoupei Wang, Jianan Zhang, Zhimin Chen & Qun Xu

  2. Physical Engineering College of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, People’s Republic of China

    Pengfei Yuan, Qiang Sun & Yu Jia

  3. State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, People’s Republic of China

    Wenfu Yan

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  1. Shoupei Wang
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Correspondence to Jianan Zhang or Qun Xu.

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Wang, S., Zhang, J., Yuan, P. et al. Au nanoparticle decorated N-containing polymer spheres: additive-free synthesis and remarkable catalytic behavior for reduction of 4-nitrophenol. J Mater Sci 50, 1323–1332 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8692-3

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