Catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol by magnetically recoverable Au nanocatalyst

Abstract A novel magnetically recoverable Au nanocatalyst was fabricated by the simple adsorption–reduction of Au(III) ions on chitosan-coated iron oxide magnetic nanocarrier. Au nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 3.14 nm were well loaded on the surface of magnetic nanocarrier because chitosan layer provided an effective driving force in the formation and stabilization of Au nanoparticles. The resultant magnetically recoverable Au nanocatalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity to the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) with sodium borohydride. The rate constants evaluated in terms of pseudo-first-order kinetic model increased with increasing the amount of Au nanocatalyst, decreasing the initial 4-NP concentration, and increasing the temperature. Also, the kinetic data suggested that this catalytic reaction was diffusion controlled owing to the presence of chitosan layer. In addition, catalyst reuse showed no trace of deactivation or poisoning during the catalytic and separation processes, revealing the stable nature and good catalytic ability of this nanocatalyst.