Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Glycerol as a Reducing Agent

Pradnya Nalawade, Tulsi Mukherjee, Sudhir Kapoor

Radiation & Photochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.

DOI: 10.4236/anp.2013.22014                

Abstract

We report one pot synthesis of uniform and stable polyvinyl pyrolidone (PVP) protected gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) using environmental friendly, glycerol as reducing agent. The effect of the presence of a capping agent (PVP) and the concentration of reactants (glycerol, tetra chloroauric acid, and NaOH) on the size and homogeneity of the Au NPs formed were investigated. Highly stable and well-distributed Au NPs were obtained at higher concentration of NaOH in the presence of PVP with a clear dependence of the size and the concentration of glycerol, NaOH and the presence of capping agent, whereas, large heterogeneous Au NPs were obtained in absence of PVP. The particle morphology, size and crystallinity were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. The catalytic performance of as synthesized Au NPs for the reduction of o-nitro aniline was investigated in aqueous solution. The pseudo-first-order rate constants were also calculated for the catalytic reaction.

Keywords

Gold Nanoparticles; Glycerol; Synthesis; Catalytic Reaction; Characterization

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	H. Xiaohua, I. H. El-Sayed, W. Qian and M. A. El-Sayed, “Cancer Cell Imaging and Photothermal Therapy in the Near-Infrared Region by Using Gold Nanorods,” Journal of American Chemical Society, Vol. 128, No. 6, 2006, pp. 2115-2120. doi:10.1021/ja057254a
[2]	M. C. Daniel and D. Astruc, “Gold Nanoparticles:? Assembly, Supramolecular Chemistry, Quantum-Size-Related Properties, and Applications toward Biology, Catalysis, and Nanotechnology,” Chemical Reviews, Vol. 104, No. 1, 2004, pp. 293-346. doi:10.1021/cr030698+
[3]	V. Tjoa, W. Jun, V. Dravid, S. Mhaisalkarad and N. Mathews, “Hybrid Graphene-Metal Nanoparticle Systems: Electronic Properties and Gas Interaction,” Journal of Materials Chemistry, Vol. 21, No. 39, 2011, pp. 1559315599. doi: 10.1039/c1jm12676h
[4]	L. Dykmana and N. Khlebtsov, “Gold Nanoparticles in Biomedical Applications: Recent Advances and Perspectives,” Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 41, No. 6, 2012, pp. 2256-2282. doi:10.1039/c1cs15166e
[5]	B. R. Cuenya, “Synthesis and Catalytic Properties of Metal Nanoparticles: Size, Shape, Support, Composition, and Oxidation State Effects,” Thin Solid Films, Vol. 518, No. 12, 2010, pp. 3127-3150. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2010.01.018
[6]	L. Rodriguez-Lorenzo, R. Rica, R. A. Alvarez-Puebla, L. M. Liz-Marzan and M. M. Stevens, “Plasmonic Nanosensors with Inverse Sensitivity by Means of Enzymeguided Crystal Growth,” Nature Materials, Vol. 11, No. 7, 2012, pp. 604-607. doi:10.1038/nmat3337
[7]	S. Y. Li and M. Wang, “Branched Metal Nanoparticles: A Review on Wet-Chemical Synthesis and Biomedical Applications,” Nano Life, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2012, Article ID: 1230002. doi:10.1142/S1793984411000311
[8]	S. Kapoor, R. Joshi and T. Mukherjee, “Influence of IAnions on the Formation and Stabilization of Copper Nanoparticles,” Chemical Physics Letters, Vol. 351, No. 5-6, 2002, pp. 443-448. doi:10.1016/S0009-2614(02)00159-8
[9]	M. Vaseem, K. M. Lee, D. Y. Kim and Y. -B. Hahn, “Parametric Study of Cost-Effective Synthesis of Crystalline Copper Nanoparticles and their Crystallographic Characterization,” Material Chemistry and Physics, Vol. 125, No. 3, 2011, pp 334-34. doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2010.11.007
[10]	K. S. N. Kamarudin and M. F. Mohamad, “Synthesis of Gold (Au) Nanoparticles for Mercury Adsorption,” American Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 6, 2010, pp. 835-839. doi:10.3844/ajassp.2010.835.839
[11]	M. S. Frank, M. C. Nahata and M. D. Hilty, “Glycerol: A Review of Its Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, Adverse Reactions, and Clinical Use,” Pharmacotherapy, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1981, pp. 147-160.
[12]	H. W. Felter, “Glycerinum,” 1922. http://www.henriettesherbal.com/eclectic/felter/glycerinum.html
[13]	R. Genc, G. Clergeaud, M. Ortiz and C. K. O’Sullivan, “Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Glycerol-Incorporated Nanosized Liposomes,” Langmuir, Vol. 27, No. 17, 2011, pp. 10894-10900. doi:10.1021/la201771s
[14]	K. Singh, K. H. Kate1, V. V. S. Chilukuri and P. K. Khanna, “Glycerol Mediated Low Temperature Synthesis of Nickel Nanoparticles by Solution Reduction Method,” Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2011, pp. 5131-5136. doi:10.1166/jnn.2011.4142
[15]	E. Nisaratanaporn and K. Wongsuwan, “Preparation of Ultrafine Silver Powder Using Glycerol as Reducing Agent,” Journal of Metals, Materials and Minerals, Vol.18, No. 2, 2008, pp. 1-5.
[16]	N. Grace and K. Pandian, “One Pot Synthesis of Polymer Protected Gold Nanoparticles and Nanoprisms in Glycerol,” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, Vol. 290, No. 1-3, 2006, pp. 138-142. doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2006.05.015
[17]	V. Sharma, K. Park and M. Srinivasarao, “Colloidal Dispersion of Gold Nanorods: Historical Background, Optical Properties, Seed-Mediated Synthesis, Shape Separation and Self-Assembly,” Materials Science and Engineering: R: Reports, Vol. 65, No. 1-3, 2009, pp. 1-38. doi:10.1016/j.mser.2009.02.002
[18]	S. Yang , T. Zhang, L. Zhang, S. Wang, Z. Yang and B. Ding, “Continuous Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles and Nanoplates with Controlled Size and Shape under UV Irradiation,” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, Vol. 296, No. 1-3, 2007, pp. 37-44. doi:10.1016/j.colsurfa.2006.09.017
[19]	S. Ghosh, S. Patil, M. Ahire, R. Kitture, D. D. Gurav, A. M. Jabgunde, S. Kale, K. Pardesi, V. Shinde, J. Bellare, D. D. Dhavale and B. A. Chopade, “Gnidia Glauca Flower Extract Mediated Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles and Evaluation of its Chemocatalytic Potential,” International Journal of Nanobiotechnology, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2012, pp. 17-26.
[20]	L. Chen, C. Wan and Y. Wang, “Chemical Preparation of Pd Nanoparticles in Room Temperature Ethylene Glycol System and Its Application to Electroless Copper Deposition,” Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 297, No. 1, 297, 2006, pp. 143-150. doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2005.10.029
[21]	S. Boopathi, S. Senthilkumar and K. L. Phani, “Facile and One Pot Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Tetraphenylborate and Polyvinylpyrrolidone for Selective Colorimetric Detection of Mercury Ions in Aqueous Medium,” Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry, Vol. 2012, No. 1, 2012, Article ID: 348965. doi:10.1155/2012/348965
[22]	G. Oza, S. Pandey, R. Shah, M. Vishwanathan, R. Kesarkar, M. Sharon and M. Sharon, “Tailoring Aspect Ratio of Gold Nano Rods: Impact of Temperature, pH, Silver ions, CTAB Concentration and Centrifugation,” Advances in Applied Science Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2012, pp. 1027-1038.
[23]	K. Layek, M. Lakshmi Kantam, M. Shirai, D. NishioHamane, T. Sasaki and H. Maheswaran, “Gold Nanoparticles Stabilized on Nanocrystalline Magnesium Oxide as an Active Catalyst for Reduction of Nitroarenes in Aqueous Medium at Room Temperature,” Green Chemistry, Vol. 14, No. 11, 2012, pp. 3164-3174. doi:10.1039/c2gc35917k
[24]	A. Leelavathi, T. U Bhaskara Rao and T. Pradeep, “Supported Quantum Clusters of Silver as Enhanced Catalysts for Reduction,” Nanoscale Research Letters, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2011, pp. 123-132. doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-123
[25]	N. Pradhan, A. Pal and T. Pal, “Catalytic Reduction of Aromatic Nitro Compounds by Coinage Metal Nanoparticles,” Langmuir, Vol. 17, No. 5, 2001, pp 1800-1802. doi:10.1021/la000862d