Synthesis of silver nanoprisms on reduced graphene oxide for high-performance catalyst

• A facile method for fabricating silver nanoprisms on graphene oxide was developed.
• Sodium alginate acted as a capping agent and a reductant.
• The resultant nanocomposite demonstrated an enhanced catalytic activity.

We developed a facile hydrothermal method to synthesize Ag nanoprism on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with the assistance of sodium alginate (SA). It was found that most of the Ag nanoparticles have {111} external facets which are parallel to the (0001) of the reduced graphene oxide matrix and thus the Ag nano-particles have shown a triangle morphology. When used as a catalyst in the oxidation of hydroquinone, the obtained SA–Ag–rGO showed an outstanding performance: the catalytic rate constant of the hybrid is more than 12 times higher than that of Ag spherical particles on graphene sheets.