Immobilization of Gold Nanoparticles on Poly(4-vinylpyridine)-Grafted Carbon Nanotubes as Heterogeneous Catalysts for Hydrogenation of 4-Nitrophenol

The organization of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) on suitable supports is very significant for applications. In this work, a facile and robust method has been developed to directly attach gold NPs (GNPs) on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with the aid of a surface-initiated grafting polymer. First, the CNTs were covalently functionalized with poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. Subsequently, the P4VP-grafted CNTs were employed as robust templates for the immobilization of GNPs, leading to the formation of CNT-g-P4VP/GNPs hybrids in which a great deal of GNPs was uniformly and densely decorated on the surface of CNTs. The covalently grafted polymer chains on the CNT surface render the CNT-g-P4VP/GNPs hybrids favorable solubility in aqueous solution. Thus, such hybrid nanocomposites could be efficiently used as catalysts for the hydrogenation of 4-nitrophenol with long-term durability and good recyclability. This approach opens up an avenue in the design of CNT-supported heterogeneous nanocatalysts with high performance.