Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalytic activity of fused gold nanoparticles

This paper describes the synthesis of fused spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and their electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of hydroxylamine (HA). Fused AuNPs were prepared by one-pot synthesis using 2-mercapto-4-methyl-5-thiazoleacetic acid (TAA) as a stabilizing agent and sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as a reducing agent. The HR-TEM images showed that two individual AuNP were joined via on its surface with a size range of approximately 7 nm and a length of approximately 15 nm diameter. The pH studies showed that the synthesized fused AuNPs was stable at pH > 8. This indicated that the carboxylate ion present on the TAA molecule stabilized the AuNPs from aggregation. Further, the fused AuNPs were utilized for the electrocatalytic oxidation of hydroxylamine (HA) after immobilized them on (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPTS) sol-gel film modified Au electrode. The AuNPs modified electrode showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of HA in 0.2 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.2) by shifting its oxidation potential to 100 mV less positive and enhancing its oxidation current for more than three times when compared to bare Au electrode. Further, it was found that the fused AuNPs modified electrode showed greater electrocatalytic activity towards HA than the spherical AuNPs modified electrodes.