Facile solid-state synthesis of Ag/graphene oxide nanocomposites as highly active and stable catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol

•Ag/graphene oxide nanocomposites have been synthesized by a facile solid-state route.•Ascorbic acid was used as a green reducing agent to produce nanocomposites.•Nanocomposites exhibited excellent activity and stability in catalytic reduction.

A facile solid-state synthetic route was used to fabricate graphene oxide (GO) decorated with Ag nanoparticles. Ag/GO nanocomposites were prepared by reducing silver acetate with ascorbic acid in the presence of GO at ambient conditions. The characterization results showed that Ag nanoparticles with an average diameter of ~ 50 nm were well dispersed on the surface of GO nanosheets. Moreover, an application of the obtained Ag/GO nanocomposites as a catalyst in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol by NaBH4 was demonstrated. The Ag/GO nanocomposites exhibited high activity and stability for the catalytic reduction of 4-NP.

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