Facile synthesis of gold nanoflowers and their application in glycerol electro-oxidation

Abstract

Gold nanoflowers were prepared using the Satureja macrostema aqueous extract. The size of the nanoflowers was determined to be an average of 730 nm in length, with a thickness of 10 nm, as measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and DLS. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the nanoscale size and the FCC cubic crystalline structure of the flowers, with a crystallite size of 10 nm, and the specific surface area using the BET method was 36.53 m2g−1. Infrared (FTIR) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) were used to identify the reducing compounds responsible for forming the nanoflowers from HAuCl4. The nanoflowers exhibited a maximum current density of 1510 mA mg−1 and 819 mA mg−1 for the electro-oxidation of analytical and crude glycerol in an alkaline medium, respectively. The nanoflowers were found to be stable after 60 min of chronoamperometry testing, which may be attributed to their morphology, preferential orientation, and the remaining surface molecules of the plant extract.