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Highly catalytic activity of nickel nanoparticles generated in poly(methylmethacrylate)@poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (PMMA@PHEMA) core–shell micelles for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP)

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Abstract

Excellent catalytic reduction of 4-NP in aqueous solution was achieved under ambient condition using nickel (Ni) nanoparticles generated in PMMA@PHEMA polymeric micelles. Ni nanoparticles were formed in two different PMMA@PHEMA micelles, namely Ni-loaded PMMA10K@PHEMA5K and Ni-loaded PMMA12K@PHEMA34K which resulted in the distinctive differences in Ni content as well as the sizes of Ni nanoparticles. Besides the concentration of the catalyst, the reduction rate of 4-NP depended on PMMA@PHEMA micelle structure, i.e., higher catalytic activity was observed for Ni-loaded PMMA10K@PHEMA5K. More importantly, the catalytic performance of Ni-loaded PMMA12K@PHEMA34K was markedly improved with increasing amount of PHEMA-shell crosslinker despite a reduction of Ni content in the micelles.

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Acknowledgements

This project is supported by Thailand Research Fund (TRF), Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI) and Khon Kaen University (KKU) under TRF research scholar program (Grant no. RSA5980075). The partial supports from PERCH-CIC and National Research University Project of Thailand, Office of the Higher Education Commission through Biofuel Cluster of Khon Kaen University are acknowledged (Grant No. NRU57).

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  1. Applied Chemistry Division, Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry (PERCH-CIC), Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Patharawadee Boonying, Surangkhana Martwiset & Sittipong Amnuaypanich

  2. Materials Chemistry Research Center (MCRC-KKU), Faculty of Science, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Surangkhana Martwiset & Sittipong Amnuaypanich

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  1. Patharawadee Boonying
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Boonying, P., Martwiset, S. & Amnuaypanich, S. Highly catalytic activity of nickel nanoparticles generated in poly(methylmethacrylate)@poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) (PMMA@PHEMA) core–shell micelles for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). Appl Nanosci 8, 475–488 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0669-0

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