Au/Au@polythiophene core/shell nanospheres for heterogeneous catalysis of nitroarenes

Monodisperse Au/Au@polythiophene core/shell nanospheres were facilely prepared through the reduction of gold precursor, AuCl₄⁻, by 2-thiopheneacetonitrile in an aqueous solution. Concomitantly, 2-thiopheneacetonitrile polymerized during this redox process. As a result, Au nanoparticle was encapsulated by conductive polymer shell to afford novel core/shell nanospheres. Interestingly, the shell was composed of very tiny Au nanoparticles surrounded with thiophene polymers. Thus, the new material is best described as Au/Au@polythiophene core/shell nanospheres. FT-IR spectroscopy revealed that the Au nanoparticles were coordinated by the C≡N groups of the polythiophene shell. Some of the C≡N groups were partially hydrolyzed into COOH groups during the redox process because of the acidic reaction condition. The shell was conductive based on the typical ohmic behavior found in electrical measurement. The Au/Au@polythiophene core/shell nanospheres were found to be very active catalysts for the hydrogenation of various nitroarene compounds into corresponding aminoarene compounds in the presence of NaBH₄. Both hydrophilic and hydrophobic nitroarenes were efficiently hydrogenated under mild conditions.