Immobilization of Gold Nanoparticles on Poly(4-vinylpyridine)-Grafted Carbon Nanotubes as Heterogeneous Catalysts for Hydrogenation of 4-Nitrophenol
Huimin Xu, Huimin Xu, Yaqin Sang, Bin Xu, Li Zhang, Li Zhang, Lei Zhang, Lei Zhang, Hui Xu, Hui Xu
Abstract
The organization of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) on suitable supports is very significant for applications. In this work, a facile and robust method has been developed to directly attach gold NPs (GNPs) on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with the aid of a surface-initiated grafting polymer. First, the CNTs were covalently functionalized with poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Subsequently, the P4VP-grafted CNTs were employed as robust templates for the immobilization of GNPs, leading to the formation of CNT-g-P4VP/GNPs hybrids in which a great deal of GNPs was uniformly and densely decorated on the surface of CNTs. The covalently grafted polymer chains on the CNT surface render the CNT-g-P4VP/GNPs hybrids favorable solubility in aqueous solution. Thus, such hybrid nanocomposites could be efficiently used as catalysts for the hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol with long-term durability and good recyclability. This approach opens up an avenue in the design of CNT-supported heterogeneous nanocatalysts with high performance.