Titania-supported silver nanoparticles: An efficient and reusable catalyst for reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Supported silver nanoparticles were synthesized via in situ sol-gel followed by reduction method with dextrose as reductant and sodium dodecyl sulfate as stabilizer. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform Infra-Red spectroscopy and UV-visible measurements. The XRD peaks confirm the metallic face-centered cubic silver particles. The formation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed from the appearance of surface plasmon absorption maxima at 412 nm; which shifted to the longer wavelengths after supported on titania host lattice. TEM showed the spherical nanoparticles with size in the range of 18-23 nm. An efficient and simple method was reported for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol using titania-supported silver nanoparticles at room temperature. The reaction was first order with respect to the concentration of 4-nitrophenol with higher efficiency. Titania supported silver nanoparticles are reusable and stable heterogeneous catalyst. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.