Catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol by using platinum nanoparticles stabilised by guar gum

We report a facile and green method to synthesise highly stable dispersions of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) with an average particle size of ∼6 nm. Natural, nontoxic, eco-friendly biopolymer guar gum was utilised as both the reducing and capping agent precursor in aqueous medium. The PtNPs that had been stabilised by guar gum (GG-s-PtNPs) were characterised by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, TEM and XPS. GG-s-PtNPs performed better in terms of catalytic activity for the liquid phase reduction of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) compared to p-aminophenol (p-AP). The efficiency of the catalytic reduction of p-NP over GG-s-PtNPs was found to be 97% in a total time of 320 s at room temperature. The mechanisms of the synthesis and catalytic reduction of p-NP are also discussed. The synthesis approach presented here does not require stringent conditions or toxic agents and thus is a straightforward, rapid, efficient, and green approach to the fabrication of highly active catalysts. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.