Gold nanoparticles supported on aldehyde-functionalized chitin nanocrystals as efficient catalysts in environmental catalysis

Rongli Li; Tongjun Yang; Mingtao Ding; Lihua Zhang; Haibo Xie

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139769

Gold nanoparticles supported on aldehyde-functionalized chitin nanocrystals as efficient catalysts in environmental catalysis

Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Jan 10:296:139769. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139769. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Rongli Li¹, Tongjun Yang¹, Mingtao Ding¹, Lihua Zhang², Haibo Xie³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Polymer Materials and Engineering, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China.
² Department of Polymer Materials and Engineering, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Electronic address: lhzhang5@gzu.edu.cn.
³ Department of Polymer Materials and Engineering, College of Materials and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China. Electronic address: hbxie@gzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39800037
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139769

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with ultra-small size anchored onto support materials is highly desired towards good catalytic performance. In this study, aldehyde-functionalized chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs-PVMA) are prepared by surface-initiated electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ARGET ATRP) with vanillin methacrylate (VMA) as a functional monomer, which are used as reductant, stabilizer and support for the fabrication of AuNPs through an environmentally friendly process that eliminates the need for any additional reducing agents. The abundant aldehyde groups of the prepared ChNCs-PVMA are crucial to achieve ultra-small AuNPs with average size of 5.3 nm. The obtained Au@ChNCs-PVMA nanohybrid catalysts were systematically characterized by FTIR, XPS, XRD and TEM. Finally, the catalytic activity of the Au@ChNCs-PVMA catalysts are investigated for reduction of 4-NP and discoloration of azo/non-azo dyes, demonstrating excellent catalytic performance and reusability. These findings provide significant insights into the development of bio-supported nanohybrid catalyst for various environmental catalysis.

Keywords: Aldehyde functionalization; Catalytic performance; Chitin nanocrystals; Discoloration of dyes; Reduction of 4-nitrophenol; Ultra-small AuNPs.