Photocatalytic Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Preyssler Acid and Their Photocatalytic Activity

Preyssler acid H14[NaP5W30O110] was used as reducing agent and stabilizer for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles by photolysis of Au(III)/Preyssler acid/propan-2-ol solution. Preyssler acid plays both the role of transferring electrons from propan-2-ol to Au(III) and stabilizing the nanoparticles. Propan-2-ol was used as sacrificial reagent for the photoformation of reduced Preyssler acid. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and particle size distribution (PSD) measurements. The synthesized Au NPs had a uniform hexagonal morphology and their size was about 17 nm. The catalytic performance of these NPs for photodegradation of methyl orange (MeO) was investigated in aqueous solution. UV-Vis studies showed that Au NPs can catalyze photodegradation of this azo dye. The pseudo-first-order rate constants were also calculated for this reaction.