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Fabrication and characterisation of gold nano-particle modified polymer monoliths for flow-through catalytic reactions and their application in the reduction of hexacyanoferrate

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Abstract

Polymer monoliths in capillary (100 μm i.d.) and polypropylene pipette tip formats (vol: 20 μL) were modified with gold nano-particles (AuNP) and subsequently used for flow-through catalytic reactions. Specifically, methacrylate monoliths were modified with amine-reactive monomers using a two-step photografting method and then reacted with ethylenediamine to provide amine attachment sites for the subsequent immobilisation of 4 nm, 7 nm or 16 nm AuNP. This was achieved by flushing colloidal suspensions of gold nano-particles through each aminated polymer monolith which resulted in a multi-point covalent attachment of gold via the lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen of the free amine groups. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and scanning capacitively coupled conductivity detection was used to characterise the surface coverage of AuNP on the monoliths. The catalytic activity of AuNP immobilised on the polymer monoliths in both formats was then demonstrated using the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) by sodium borohydride as a model reaction by monitoring the reduction in absorbance of the hexacyanoferrate (ІІІ) complex at 420 nm. Catalytic activity was significantly enhanced on monoliths modified with smaller AuNP with almost complete reduction (95 %) observed when using monoliths agglomerated with 7 nm AuNPs.

Gold nano-particles were immobilised upon a porous polymer monolith and used for the micro-scale catalytic reduction of Fe (III) to Fe (II) in flow-through mode

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Science Foundation Ireland (Grant number 08/SRC/B1412) for research funding under the Strategic Research Cluster programme and also for equipment funding (Grant. Number 03/IN.3/1361/EC07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Irish Separation Science Cluster, National Centre for Sensor Research, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Patrick Floris

  2. School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland

    Brendan Twamley

  3. Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), School of Chemistry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    Pavel N. Nesterenko & Brett Paull

  4. Pharmaceutical and Molecular Biotechnology Research Centre (PMBRC), Department of Chemical and Life Sciences, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Ireland

    Damian Connolly

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  1. Patrick Floris
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  2. Brendan Twamley
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  4. Brett Paull
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  5. Damian Connolly
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Correspondence to Damian Connolly.

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Floris, P., Twamley, B., Nesterenko, P.N. et al. Fabrication and characterisation of gold nano-particle modified polymer monoliths for flow-through catalytic reactions and their application in the reduction of hexacyanoferrate. Microchim Acta 181, 249–256 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-013-1108-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-013-1108-2

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