Facile in situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles on boron nitride nanosheets with enhanced catalytic performance

An environmentally friendly and facile approach was developed to synthesize boron nitride nanosheet/Ag nanoparticle hybrids (BNNS/Ag) in aqueous solution at room temperature without additional reductants. BNNSs were modified with a thin layer of tannic acid-ferric ion (TA-Fe) complex. Silver nanoparticles with a uniform diameter of approximately 7 nm were in situ formed on the surface of the modified BNNSs due to the strong reducibility of TA. The resultant nanohybrids showed excellent catalytic activity in reduction of 4-nitrophenol. BNNS/Au and BNNS/Pd nanohybrids can also be fabricated by this means, implying its extensive promise in catalytic, bio-medical and sensing fields.