title: Catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol by using platinum nanoparticles stabilised by guar gum.
abstract: We report a facile and green method to synthesise highly stable dispersions of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) with an average particle size of ∼ 6 nm. Natural, nontoxic, eco-friendly biopolymer guar gum was utilised as both the reducing and capping agent precursor in aqueous medium. The PtNPs that had been stabilised by guar gum (GG-s-PtNPs) were characterised by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, TEM and XPS. GG-s-PtNPs performed better in terms of catalytic activity for the liquid phase reduction of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) compared to p-aminophenol (p-AP). The efficiency of the catalytic reduction of p-NP over GG-s-PtNPs was found to be 97% in a total time of 320 s at room temperature. The mechanisms of the synthesis and catalytic reduction of p-NP are also discussed. The synthesis approach presented here does not require stringent conditions or toxic agents and thus is a straightforward, rapid, efficient, and green approach to the fabrication of highly active catalysts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, 37 Nind Street, Doornfontein, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa. Electronic address: spandey.uj@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sadanand
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, 37 Nind Street, Doornfontein, Johannesburg 2028, South Africa.
authors.forename: Shivani B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Mishra
keywords: Biopolymer; Catalysis; Green method; Guar gum; Metal nanoparticle; p-Nitrophenol