High-efficient reduction of methylene blue and 4-nitrophenol by silver nanoparticles embedded in magnetic graphene oxide.

In this study, a ternary magnetically separable nanocomposite of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) embedded in magnetic graphene oxide (Ag/Fe3O4@GO) was designed and synthesized. Beta-cyclodextrin was used as a green reducing and capping agent for decorating of AgNPs on Fe3O4@GO. The fabricated material was characterized using X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The catalytic properties of the prepared Ag/Fe3O4@GO for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and methylene blue (MB) dye with sodium borohydride were investigated in detail. The morphological and structural studies revealed that Fe3O4 and AgNPs with a mean size of 12 nm were uniformly distributed on the GO sheet at high densities. The catalytic tests showed that Ag/Fe3O4@GO exhibited an ultrafast catalytic reduction of 4-NP and MB with a reduction rate constant of 0.304 min-1 and 0.448 min-1, respectively. Moreover, the catalyst demonstrated excellent stability and reusability, as evidenced by the more than 97% removal efficiency maintained after five reuse cycles. The Ag/Fe3O4@GO catalyst could be easily recovered by the magnetic separation due to the superparamagnetic nature of Fe3O4 with high saturated magnetization (45.7 emu/g). Besides, the formation of networking between the formed AgNPs and ß-CD through hydrogen bonding prevented the agglomeration of AgNPs, ensuring their high catalytic ability. The leaching study showed that the dissolution of Fe and Ag from Ag/Fe3O4@GO was negligible, indicating the environmental friendliness of the synthesized catalyst. Finally, the high catalytic performance, excellent stability, and recoverability of Ag/Fe3O4@GO make it a potential candidate for the reduction of organic pollutants in wastewater.

Novel biogenic gold nanoparticles stabilized on poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) as an effective material for reduction of nitrophenols and colorimetric detection of Pb(II).

Biogenic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been extensively studied for the catalytic conversion of nitrophenols (NP) into aminophenols and the colorimetric quantification of heavy metal ions in aqueous solutions. However, the high self-agglomeration ability of colloidal nanoparticles is one of the major obstacles hindering their application. In the present study, we offered novel biogenic AuNPs synthesized by a green approach using Cistanche deserticola (CD) extract as a bioreducing agent and stabilized on poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (PSMA). The prepared Au@PSMA nanoparticles were characterized by various techniques (HR-TEM, SEAD, FE-SEM, DLS, TGA, XRD, and FTIR) and studied for two applications: the catalytic reduction of 3-NP by NaBH4 and the sensing detection of Pb2+ ions. The optimal conditions for the synthesis of AuNPs were investigated and established at 60 °C, 20 min, pH of 9, and 0.5 mM Au3+. Morphological studies showed that AuNPs synthesized by CD extract were mostly spherical with a mean diameter of 25 nm, while the size of polymer-integrated AuNPs was more than two-fold larger. Since PSMA acted as a matrix keeping the nanoparticles from coagulation and maintaining the optimal surface area, AuNPs integrated with PSMA showed higher catalytic efficiency with a faster reaction rate and lower activation energy than conventional nanoparticles. Au@PSMA could completely reduce 3-NP within 10 min with a rate constant of 0.127 min-1 and activation energy of 9.96 kJ/mol. The presence of PSMA also improved the stability and recyclability of AuNPs. Used as a sensor, Au@PSMA exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity for Pb2+ ions with a limit of detection of 0.03 µM in the linear range of 0-100 µM. The study results suggested that Au@PSMA could be used as a promising catalyst for the reduction of NP and the colorimetric sensor for detection of Pb2+ ions in aqueous environmental samples.