Gold mesocauliflowers as catalyst for the hydrogenation of acetone to isopropanol

Abstract

For thirty years, gold (Au) has been widely investigated as a heterogeneous nanocatalyst that greatly depends on shape and size. A very limited number of scientific articles report on the use of Au-based nanostructures for hydrogenation of acetone. In this study, Au catalysts were grown directly on ITO-coated glass substrates via a seed-mediated growth method. The shape and size of Au catalysts were manipulated through the composition of surfactants of β-cyclodextrin and DTAB. The results show that the use of higher β-cyclodextrin concentration produces Au polycrystalline mesocauliflowers with an average diameter ±270 nm and (111) crystal plane as a preferred orientation growth. This morphology may provide a greater active surface area, as the sites for hydrogen and acetone adsorption reach the highest acetone conversion rate of 27.6% to isopropanol.