Growth and characterization of sponge-like silver with high catalytic activity for the reduction of p-nitrophenol

•Sponge-like silver has been prepared by chemical reduction for the first time.•The possible growth mechanism of spongy silver can be explained by OA mechanism.•Sponge-like silver is very promising catalytic candidate for the reduction of 4-NP.

We demonstrate a facile synthesis of sponge-like nanoporous silver by chemical reduction of silver nitrate in aqueous solution for the first time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy were used to characterize these sponge-like nanoporous silver nanocrystals and the possible growth mechanism can be explained by oriented attachment (OA) mechanism. Further, the catalytic activities of obtained sponge-like nanoporous silver were investigated by photometrically monitoring the reduction of p-nitrophenol (4-NP) by an excess of NaBH4. The results reveal that the sponge-like silver is very promising catalytic candidate for the reduction of 4-NP because of simple preparation route and superior catalytic activity.

Graphical abstractWe demonstrate a facile, low cost and rapid synthesis of sponge-like silver by chemical reduction of silver nitrate in aqueous solution for the first time. The results reveal that the sponge-like silver with nanopores shows superior catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide