Gold Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) Nanocomposites as a Catalyst for the Reduction of o-nitroaniline

Abstract

Carbon-based nanocomposites are an emerging material which is of great interest due to their extraordinary properties upon the addition of nanoparticles onto it. Herein, we report the in-situ synthesis of gold-rGO nanocomposites by the chemical reduction method using two reducing agents- chitosan and ascorbic acid. Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide polymer which exhibits good adhesion, biocompatibility and biodegradability. The adhesive nature of chitosan enables the binding of gold ions on the chitosan matrix, thereby reducing it. The mechanical properties of the rGO enhances by the addition of chitosan stabilized gold nanoparticles forming a nanocomposite. UV-vis, FT-IR, XRD and FESEM were used to characterize the nanocomposites. The synthesized Au-rGO nano composites with a crystallite size of 64.79 nm were confirmed by X-ray diffraction spectra. The scanning electron microscope image revealed that spherical shaped gold nanoparticles dispersed on the chitosan matrix and graphene sheets. The synthesized gold-rGO nanocomposite exhibits good catalytic activity towards the reduction of o-nitro aniline. The findings of this research could be useful in the development of catalysts for the reduction of organic contaminants in industrial wastewater.