Preparation of Resorcinarene-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles and Their Catalytic Activities for Reduction of Aromatic Nitro Compounds

Resorcinarene-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared conveniently in aqueous solution in the presence of amphiphilic tetramethoxyresorcinarene tetraaminoamide. The obtained AuNPs were characterized and analyzed by UV-vis, FT-IR, XRD and TEM, respectively. The results showed that the size of AuNPs and the standard deviations were all decreasing with the increase of resorcinarene concentration. In addition, the catalytic activity of the obtained AuNPs in the reduction of aromatic nitro compounds was also investigated. In aqueous solution the reaction follows a first order kinetics and the size of AuNPs has influence on the rate of reduction.