Reusable Surface-Modified Bacterial Cellulose Based on Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization Technology with Excellent...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Catalysis

Background:

• Membrane-binding gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) offer high catalytic activity for oxidation and reduction reactions.
• Developing stable and reusable AuNP catalysts is crucial for practical applications.
• Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a versatile biomaterial for nanostructure fabrication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) supported on surface-functionalized bacterial cellulose (BC-poly(HEMA)).
• To evaluate the catalytic performance of the synthesized AuNPs/BC-poly(HEMA) composite for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP).
• To assess the reusability and stability of the AuNPs/BC-poly(HEMA) catalyst under various conditions.

Main Methods:

• Surface functionalization of bacterial cellulose (BC) with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly(HEMA)) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP).
• In-situ synthesis of uniform gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with an average diameter of 8 nm on the BC-poly(HEMA) membrane.
• Catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) using sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the reducing agent.

Main Results:

• The synthesized AuNPs/BC-poly(HEMA) composite exhibited excellent catalytic activity for 4-NP reduction.
• The catalyst demonstrated remarkable reusability, maintaining high activity after 10 reuse cycles.
• No 4-NP was detected in the degradation solution after 45 days of storage, indicating high stability.

Conclusions:

• The BC-poly(HEMA) serves as an effective carrier and reducing agent for uniform AuNP distribution.
• The AuNPs/BC-poly(HEMA) catalyst shows promising potential for industrial applications due to its high activity, reusability, and stability.
• Catalytic performance is influenced by temperature and pH, highlighting the need for optimized reaction conditions.