Kinetic investigation for the catalytic reduction of nitrophenol using ionic liquid stabilized gold nanoparticles.

We demonstrate the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNP) stabilized by 1-butyl-3-hexadecyl imidazolium bromide (Au@[CCIm]Br) and their use as a catalyst for the reduction of nitrophenol. The AuNPs show excellent stability in presence of [CCIm]Br ionic liquids for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and 2-nitrophenol using NaBH as a reducing agent. The detailed kinetics for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and 2-nitrophenol were investigated and the catalytic activity of Au@[CCIm]Br was evaluated.