Microwave-assisted synthesis of anisotropic gold nanocrystals in polymer matrix and their catalytic activities

We report a facile and fast one-pot microwave (MW) synthesis of gold nanotriangle, nanobranches and nanorod. Gold salt is reduced to gold nanoparticles by ethylene glycol/polyethylene glycol in the presence of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose. Morphology of the nanocrystals can be tailored by varying the amount of capping agents, reducing agent and the MW irradiation time. Synthesised nanoparticles are characterised by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis), transmission electron microscopic and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy study. The key requirement for producing the gold triangle and gold nanorod of higher aspect ratio is the adequate MW heating time. The photocatalytic activity of gold nanocrystals is investigated by monitoring the photochemical reduction of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) in the presence of excess NaBH4. The reaction is first order with respect to the concentration of TNP. It has been observed that the catalytic efficiency of rod-like gold nanocrystals is higher than the other gold nanocrystals.