This study describes the thermally controlled chemical reaction in the presence of multiple gold cores within a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanoparticle.  The formation and properties of these nanocomposites was thoroughly examined by electron microscopes, UV-visible spectrophotometer, and dynamic light scattering.  Unlike bare gold nanoparticles, these nanocomposites exhibited high stability under various temperatures and/or pHs.  Subsequently, these nanoparticles were employed in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol, whose reactivity was significantly faster at room temperature than above 40 oC due to the deswelled polymer structure presumably preventing the access of hydrophilic reactants to the gold cores.  This highly controllable chemical reaction using these nanocomposites can allow for the development of a unique nano-scale chemical reactor.

Thermally-controlled catalytic properties of gold-polymer nanocomposites

245th National Meeting (2013)

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