TEMPO-oxidized bacterial cellulose nanofibers-supported gold nanoparticles with superior catalytic properties

A novel nanohybrid was successfully fabricated by deposition of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto the surface of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized bacterial cellulose nanofibers (TOBCNs). The prepared AuNPs/TOBCNs nanohybrids were characterized by UV-vis spectral analysis, XRD, TEM and HRTEM. Their catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) was estimated by UV-vis spectrometry. The results showed that the AuNPs/TOBCNs nanohybrids possessed AuNPs with an average diameter of 4.30 ± 0.97 nm exhibited superior catalytic properties for the reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP. The influences of the content of reducing agent and system temperature on the catalytic property were studied. Moreover, the turnover frequency of AuNPs/TOBCNs was 750 h−1, which is higher than most recently reported AuNPs-based catalysts. This work reported a heterogeneous catalyst based on TOBCNs supported AuNPs with superior catalytic properties.