title: Water-Soluble Gold Nanoparticles: From Catalytic Selective Nitroarene Reduction in Water to Refractive Index Sensing.
abstract: Water-soluble gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) stabilized by a nitrogen-rich poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-tagged substrate have been prepared by reduction of HAuCl4 with NaBH4 in water at room temperature. The morphology and size of the nanoparticles can be controlled by simply varying the gold/stabilizer ratio. The nanoparticles have been fully characterized by TEM, high-resolution (HR) TEM, electron diffraction (ED), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV/Vis, powder XRD, and elemental analysis. The material is efficient as a recyclable catalyst for the selective reduction of nitroarenes with NaBH4 to yield the corresponding anilines in water at room temperature. Furthermore, the potential ability of the Au NPs as a refractive index sensor owing to their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect has also been assessed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Centro de Innovación, en Química Avanzada (CINQA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Wusheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Centro de Innovación, en Química Avanzada (CINQA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. roser.pleixats@uab.cat.
authors.forename: Roser
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pleixats
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Centro de Innovación, en Química Avanzada (CINQA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain. ashafir@iciq.es.|Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), Av. Països Catalans 16, 43007, Tarragona, Spain. ashafir@iciq.es.
authors.forename: Alexandr
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shafir
keywords: arenes; gold; nanoparticles; reduction; sensors