Tuning lattice strain in Quasi-2D Au-rGO nanohybrid catalysts for dimethylphenylsilane solid state silylation to disiloxane

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of lattice strain on quasi-2D Au-rGO nanohybrids by growing cubic shape-controlled Au nanocrystals on rGO. To induce the lattice strain, a trisodium citrate capping agent and different concentrations of Au nanoparticles ranging from 0.2 to 1 mM were used. The 0.4 mM Au-rGO was confirmed with a low lattice strain differential of 0.1% between crystallographic planes (111), (200), (220), and (220) (311). The catalytic solid-state activity of 0.4 mM Au-rGO during conversion of dimethylphenylsilane to diphenyltetramethyldisiloxane is highest due to the low lattice strain differential. Following first-order kinetics, more dimethylphenylsilane was converted to diphenyltetramethyldisiloxane at a rate of 5.5 mol. L-1s-1 and 0.75 s-1 rates constant after increasing the solid-state silylation reaction time to 12 h. The findings represent a significant advance towards understanding the synergy of lattice strain in nanomaterials and their activity for the development of quantum catalytic devices.