Facile synthesis of core-shell nanocomposites Au catalysts towards abatement of environmental pollutant Rhodamine B

Magnetically recoverable Au nanoparticles immobilized/stabilized on core-shell nanocomposites are synthesized by the combination of suspension polymerization as well as surface initiator atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) methods. The magnetic core-shell supported Au nanocatalysts are namely Fe3O4-PAC-AuNPs, Fe3O4-PVBC-g-PAC-AuNPs, Fe3O4-HEA-AuNPs, and Fe3O4-PVBC-g-HEA-AuNPs. Among all the catalysts, Fe3O4-PVBC-g-PAC-Au NPs exhibited an excellent activity in the reduction of Rhodamine B with an apparent rate constant of 10.77 × 10−3 s−1 and TOF value of 47.62 × 10−3 s−1 under pseudo-first order reaction condition. Further, Fe3O4-PVBC-g-PAC-Au NPs has an outstanding activity and recyclability without applying any external magnetic field. This new approach provides an exciting potential way in the preparation of recyclable metal nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity.