Dispersed Au Nanoparticles Research Articles

Oxidation of 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid with morphology-dependent Au/CeO2 catalysts

2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a bio-based diacid with a rigid ring, has a similar structure to petroleum-based terephthalic acid. Its co-polyester with ethylene glycol has excellent performance in terms of thermal and mechanical properties. Herein, an Au/CeO2-rod catalyst with rich oxygen vacancies was developed to achieve the efficient oxidation of 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) to FDCA with a 92 % yield under mild conditions, with the addition of 4 equivalents of Na2CO3 at 80℃ under 2 MPa O2 for 6 h. The large specific surface area of CeO2-rod is beneficial for better dispersion of Au nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the high activity of Au/CeO2-rod can be attributed to that the rod-shaped CeO2 exposed more active (100) facets, resulting in strong metal-support interaction between Au nanoparticles and CeO2-rod. This could generate more Au species with oxidized state and more oxygen vacancies, thus promoting the reactant adsorption and oxygen activation and enhancing the final oxidation activity. The oxidation of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid to FDCA was determined as the rate-determining step in the oxidation of BHMF over the Au/CeO2 catalyst.

Effects of Surfactants on the Size Distribution and Electrocatalytic Nitrite Reduction of Uniformly Dispersed Au Nanoparticles

Effects of Surfactants on the Size Distribution and Electrocatalytic Nitrite Reduction of Uniformly Dispersed Au Nanoparticles

Construction of piezoelectric photocatalyst Au/BiVO4 for efficient degradation of tetracycline and studied at single-particle level

Piezopotential-assisted catalysis has been proven to be a low-cost and high-efficiency environmental purification process. Herein, Au/bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) piezoelectric photocatalysts are prepared by modifying highly dispersed Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) on piezoelectric BiVO4 microcrystal by a deposition-precipitation approach. Under visible light irradiation and assisted ultrasound excitation, the removal rate of tetracycline was 95% within 60 min, demonstrating the optimum photocatalytic performance over 3Au/BiVO4. The significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance is due to the synergistic coupling of plasmonic and piezotronic effect based on facet engineering. Single-particle spectroscopy technology can provide photoluminescence (PL) lifetime and PL spectra information in the micro-/nano regions, thereby exploring the charge transfer behavior of heterostructures. Single-particle PL images revealed a significant attenuation of PL emission and shortened PL lifetime of 3Au/BiVO4, compared with BiVO4, indicating that high-density dispersed AuNPs promote charge transfer. In situ monitoring of individual BiVO4 and 3Au/BiVO4 particles before and after polarization treatment confirms that the piezoelectric field of the BiVO4 decahedron further promotes separation of photogenerated carriers induced by plasmonic effect. Driven by the piezoelectric potential induced by ultrasonic vibration near the heterostructures, high-energy hot electrons excited on plasmonic AuNPs can be effectively extracted to BiVO4. This work provides new choices for designing high-performance pollutant treatment catalysts.

Highly Chromatic Plasmonic Color Film by Sterical Dispersion of Au Nanoparticles in Polydimethylsiloxane

Highly Chromatic Plasmonic Color Film by Sterical Dispersion of Au Nanoparticles in Polydimethylsiloxane

A Hierarchical Metal-Organic Framework Composite Aerogel Catalyst Containing Integrated Acid, Base, and Metal Sites for the One-Pot Catalytic Synthesis of Cyclic Carbonates.

Catalysis has played a decisive role in the development of unique chemical reactions to produce important chemicals. However, conventional stepwise synthetic routes that rely on individual catalysts to promote each step often suffer from ponderous processes for the isolation of intermediates that result in massive material losses and large economic expenditures. In addition, traditional powder forms of these catalysts suffer from poor processability and recoverability. Herein, we designed and prepared a hierarchical metal-organic framework (MOF) composite monolithic catalyst IL-Au@UiO-66-NH2/CMC that contains integrated acid (Zr4+), base (ionic liquid (IL)), and metal sites (Au nanoparticles (NPs)) to promote the one-pot preparation of cyclic carbonates from styrene derivatives and CO2. Highly dispersed Au NPs, IL 1-aminoethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C2NH2 MIM] [Br]), and MOF-positioned Lewis acid sites within this composite aerogel are separately responsible for catalyzing selective epoxidation of the styrene derivatives and the subsequent cycloaddition reaction of CO2 with intermediate styrene oxides. Importantly, inclusion of the imidazolium-based IL effectively modulates the size and chemical microenvironment of the Au NPs via electrostatic protection, leading to catalyst stability and its selective oxidation of styrene. Benefiting from the rapid mass transfer and high exposure of active sites within the pore-rich hierarchical nanostructure, IL-Au@UiO-66-NH2/CMC promotes high conversion (90.5%) of the styrene and selectivity (80.5%) for styrene carbonate (SC) formation in the one-pot process, a performance level that far exceeds those of related catalysts containing only Au NPs or IL (the selectivity of SC < 42%). Furthermore, the composite aerogel catalyst can be readily separated and recycled at least five times without a remarkable loss of activity and selectivity. The controllable integration of various active components in the hierarchical MOF composite aerogel herein should serve as the foundation for the design of multifunctional monolithic catalysts for other valuable tandem processes.

A novel and simple method yields highly dispersed Au/TS-1 catalysts for enhanced propylene hydro-oxidation.

We demonstrate a simple method for preparing highly active Au/TS-1 catalysts for propylene hydro-oxidation, which involves sequentially impregnating HAuCl4 and Cs2CO3 solutions onto TS-1. The Au/TS-1 catalysts synthesized by this method exhibit high Au uptake efficiency (∼100%), high dispersion of Au nanoparticles and superior activity.

The role of oxide supports in constructing plasma-treated gold nanocatalysts for visible light photocatalytic oxidation of CO

Supported Au nanocatalysts are highly attractive plasmonic nanostructures for visible light (VL) photocatalysis due to their significant promise in direct conversion of solar to chemical energy. A promising strategy to prepare high-performance supported plasmonic Au nanocatalysts is treating the catalysts with plasma, where the support holds the key to constructing active Au-support interfaces by interacting with Au nanoparticles. Herein the role of oxide supports in constructing plasma-treated plasmonic Au nanocatalysts for VL photocatalytic oxidation of CO is studied by comparing effect of plasma treatment on typical oxides of TiO2, CeO2 and Al2O3 supported Au nanocatalysts. After O2 plasma treatment, CeO2 supported Au nanocatalyst obtains the highest intrinsic catalytic activity due to its high dispersion of Au nanoparticles induced by strong interaction between CeO2 and Au and strong oxygen activation ability. The O2 plasma treatment enables TiO2 supported Au nanocatalyst to exhibit the largest enhancement in catalytic activity under VL irradiation, which originates from the favorable hot-electron transfer process. This process is not only attributed to the strong surface plasmon resonance of Au nanoparticles and large numbers of Au-TiO2 interfacial sites that result from moderate interaction between TiO2 and Au, but also depends on the low Schottky barrier height at Au-TiO2 interface due to the small work function difference between TiO2 and metallic Au. This investigation deepens the understanding of the role of oxide supports in constructing plasma-treated supported Au nanocatalysts, and can be instructive for the design and optimization of plasmonic Au nanocatalysts for VL photocatalytic reactions.

Highly dispersed gold nanoparticles anchoring on COFTAPB-DMTP for electrochemical detection of paracetamol

Small size Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) have aroused wide interest in electrochemical sensing due to its high surface atom utilization and superior electrical conductivity. However, there was a great challenge to balance the stability and small-size of AuNPs because of their large specific surface and high surface energy. Regarding this issue, herein, COFTAPB-DMTP was proposed as guiding support substrate for the synthesis of highly dispersed and small size AuNPs, where the uniform functional sites such N, O atoms on COFTAPB-DMTP could act as anchor points to induce in-situ reduction of AuNPs, and the confinement effects from the nanopore of COFTAPB-DMTP could limit their size. Then, an electrochemical paracetamol (PA) sensor was designed based on AuNPs@COFTAPB-DMTP since the abundant active centers and outstanding electrical conductivity of highly dispersed small size AuNPs conferred the composite excellent sensing performance. Moreover, the large specific surface, ordered pore channels and abundant heteroatomic functional groups of COFTAPB-DMTP could achieve high enrichment capacity toward PA molecules on electrode surface through pore effect, hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction. Benefiting from the combination between AuNPs and COFTAPB-DMTP, the AuNPs@COFTAPB-DMTP based sensor presents excellent analytical performance in term of low limit of detection (22 nM), satisfactory stability, reproducibility and selectivity. It indicated that COFs can be used as promising inducible substrate material for the preparation of highly dispersed and small size metal nanoparticles.

Fabrication of Adjustable Au/Carbon Hybrid Nanozymes with Photothermally Enhanced Peroxidase Activity and Ultra-sensitivity for Glutathione Detection

Au nanozymes are extensively researched for their photothermal effect and catalytic performance, but overcoming the inherent defects of poor dispersibility and thermal stability through complementary materials will expand their prospects for biological applications. Herein, several novel CAu nanozymes were fabricated by in situ reduction of chloroauric acid on hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNs). Through regulating the number of reductions, sesame ball-shaped CAu (sCAu) with highly dispersed Au nanoparticles and diversity-shaped CAu (dCAu) were obtained. The number and morphology of loaded Au nanoparticles, absorption spectra, and hydrophilicity of CAu nanozymes were systematically characterized to demonstrate the flexibility of this novel method. The high-efficiency peroxidase-like sCAu0.3 nanozyme with hyperthermia-activated property was then screened for later bio-application. It is worth mentioning that its photothermal-promoted peroxidase-like activity could be achieved under near-infrared laser irradiation. Moreover, sCAu0.3 could specifically achieve glutathione detection in human blood samples. This method will provide a protocol for the regulation of CAu nanozymes to adapt to bio-detection applications.

Room-temperature ppb-level NO2 sensitivity of three-dimensional ordered macroporous Au-loaded SnO2 under intermittent UV light irradiation

Metal oxide gas sensors operated at room temperature are highly desirable from the point of view of energy conservation. However, they typically suffer from a long recovery time and a low response to the target gas. In this work, we demonstrate the ultrahigh room-temperature ppb-level NO2 sensitivity of three-dimensional ordered macroporous Au-loaded SnO2 under intermittent UV light irradiation. Fabricated with a template of polystyrene opal crystal, the inverse opal of Au/SnO2 is assembled in an FCC structure, with finely dispersed Au nanoparticles anchored on the interconnected walls of SnO2. The decoration of Au nanoparticles improves the NO2 response of SnO2 under both continuous and intermittent UV irradiation due to the spillover effect of Au. Significantly improved response toward NO2 has been achieved under intermittent UV irradiation. The sensing mechanism responsible for the ultrahigh response toward NO2 has been elaborated.

Locking Effect in Metal@MOF with Superior Stability for Highly Chemoselective Catalysis

Ultrasmall metal nanoparticles (NPs) show high catalytic activity in heterogeneous catalysis but are prone to reunion and loss during the catalytic process, resulting in low chemoselectivity and poor efficiency. Herein, a locking effect strategy is proposed to synthesize high-loading and ultrafine metal NPs in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for efficient chemoselective catalysis with high stability. Briefly, the MOF ZIF-90 with aldehyde groups cooperating with diamine chains via aldimine condensation was interlocked, which was employed to confine in situ formation of Au NPs, denoted as Au@L-ZIF-90. The optimized Au@La-ZIF-90 has highly dispersed Au NPs (2.60 ± 0.81 nm) with a loading amount around 22 wt % and shows a great performance toward 3-aminophenylacetylene (3-APA) from the selective hydrogenation of 3-nitrophenylacetylene (3-NPA) with a high yield (99%) and excellent durability (over 20 cycles), far superior to contrast catalysts without chains locking and other reported catalysts. In addition, experimental characterization and systematic density functional theory calculations further demonstrate that the locked MOF modulates the charge of Au nanoparticles, making them highly specific for nitro group hydrogenation to obtain 3-APA with high selectivity (99%). Furthermore, this locking effect strategy is also applicable to other metal nanoparticles confined in a variety of MOFs, and all of these catalysts locked with chains show great selectivity (≥90%) of 3-APA. The proposed strategy in this work provides a novel and universal method for precise control of the inherent activity of accessible metal nanoparticles with a programmable MOF microenvironment toward highly specific catalysis.

Constructing core-shell structured Au/Snβ@mesosilica composite for one-pot base-free conversion of glycerol to methyl lactate

Herein, core-shell structured Snβ@mesosilica (MS) composite was constructed by oriented assembly of mesoporous silica on microporous Snβ zeolite. The mesoporous channels in the shell were verified vertically aligned to the Snβ core, rendering sufficient mass transfer between the shell and core. The resultant Snβ@MS was thereafter employed as the scaffolds for anchoring Au nanoparticles to develop a bifunctional Au/Snβ@MS catalyst for one-pot base-free conversion of glycerol to methyl lactate (ML), which is regarded as a promising and sustainable route to ML production. Under optimum reaction conditions, a remarkable activity with 98.2% glycerol conversion and 91.9% ML selectivity was achieved. More importantly, the introduction of mesoporous silica shell can efficiently modify the Lewis/Brønsted acid ratio of Snβ@MS, thus inhibit the side reactions. While the confinement effects could protect the highly dispersed Au nanoparticles against sintering. Accordingly, a high stability and recyclability was achieved over the Au/Snβ@MS catalyst.

Facile conversion of glycerol to 1,3-dihydroxyacetone by using mesoporous CuO–SnO2 composite oxide supported Au catalysts

Selective catalytic oxidation of polyols, e.g., the selective catalytic oxidation of the secondary –OH bond in glycerol, remains a considerable challenge. In this study, a series of mesoporous CuO–SnO2 composite oxides were prepared by a hard-template method and used to support Au catalysts for the selective oxidation of glycerol to 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) under base-free conditions. Catalysts with different Cu:Sn molar ratios gave different catalytic performances. A high conversion of glycerol (100%) and selectivity for DHA (94.7%) were obtained in 2 h at 80 °C and PO2 = 1 MPa over the Au/CuO–SnO2-3:1 catalyst. Further investigation indicated that the high catalytic activity of Au/CuO–SnO2-3:1 is related to the small size and high dispersion of Au nanoparticles (NPs), the interactions between the Au NPs and the support, the synergistic effect between CuO and SnO2, and the amount of surface lattice oxygen species. Various reaction parameters, namely the glycerol:Au molar ratio, the reaction temperature, the initial O2 pressure, the reaction time, and the support calcination temperature were studied. Although the conversion rate by the catalyst decreased after four cycles, the selectivity remained above 86%. Density functional theory calculations showed that the synergy between CuO and SnO2 improves the catalytic activity in glycerol oxidation to DHA. The results show that mesoporous composite oxide supports have a wide range of potential applications in the selective oxidation of glycerol to other high-value-added products.

Sono-sorption versus adsorption for the removal of congo red from aqueous solution using NiFeLDH/Au nanocomposite: Kinetics, thermodynamics, isotherm studies, and optimization of process parameters

As anionic alloy or layered compounds, layered double hydroxides (LDH) have recently attracted much attention due to their excellent adsorption and catalytic properties. In this work, NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFeLDH) was utilized as a precursor to synthesize NiFeLDH/Au nanocomposites via a simple urea-hydrolyzed hydrothermal process under UV–vis light irradiation. The as-prepared nanomaterials were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, XPS, BET, UV–vis, TEM, and FESEM analysis. The performance of NiFeLDH and NiFeLDH/Au nanocomposites was evaluated in the adsorptive removal of congo red (CR) dye from aqueous media using two methods of adsorption, i.e. liquid phase sorption (MS) and sono-sorption (US). The sono-sorption technique exhibited higher removal efficiency due to the generation of small bubbles, strong shock waves, high-velocity microjets, and diminished thickness of diffusion layers. Furthermore, the NiFeLDH/Au nanocomposite offered much higher performance in CR removal, exhibiting a dye removal efficiency of 95% in 7 minutes of sono-sorption time. The superior performance of the NiFeLDH/Au composite can be assigned to the high specific surface area of the sorbent, better dispersion of Au nanoparticles onto the surface of NiFeLDH materials, and synergistic effects between Au and NiFeLDH. Also, the isothermal evaluation showed that the data of CR adsorption onto fabricated nanohybrids could be well-matched with the Langmuir model indicating uniform surface energies. Moreover, kinetics studies revealed that the best data fitting for CR adsorption can be provided by Ho’s pseudo-second-order kinetics. The thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption of CR dye onto NiFeLDH/Au was an endothermic and spontaneous process at the investigated temperatures and CR concentrations. Finally, this research suggests a simple method for the synthesis of an LDH-based nano-sorbent capable of almost completely removing organic dyes from aqueous media.

Confining Gold Nanoparticles in Preformed Zeolites by Post-Synthetic Modification Enhances Stability and Catalytic Reactivity and Selectivity.

Confining Au nanoparticles (NPs) in a restricted space (e.g., zeolite micropores) is a promising way of overcoming their inherent thermal instability and susceptibility to aggregation, which limit catalytic applications. However, such approaches involve complex, multistep encapsulation processes. Here, we describe a successful strategy and its guiding principles for confining small (<2 nm) and monodisperse Au NPs within commercially available beta and MFI zeolites, which can oxidize CO at 40 °C and show size-selective catalysis. This protocol involves post-synthetic modification of the zeolite internal surface with thiol groups, which confines AuClx species inside microporous frameworks during the activation process whereby Au precursors are converted into Au nanoparticles. The resulting beta and MFI zeolites contain uniformly dispersed Au NPs throughout the void space, indicating that the intrinsic stability of the framework promotes resistance to sintering. By contrast, in situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) studies evidenced that Au precursors in bare zeolites migrate from the matrix to the external surface during activation, thereby forming large and poorly dispersed agglomerates. Furthermore, the resistance of confined Au NPs against sintering is likely relevant to the intrinsic stability of the framework, supported by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), H2 chemisorption, and CO Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) studies. The Au NPs supported on commercial MFI maintain their uniform dispersity to a large extent after treatment at 700 °C that sinters Au clusters on mesoporous silicas or beta zeolites. Low-temperature CO oxidation and size-selective reactions highlight that most gold NPs are present inside the zeolite matrix with a diameter smaller than 2 nm. These findings illustrate how confinement favors small, uniquely stable, and monodisperse NPs, even for metals such as Au susceptible to cluster growth under conditions often required for catalytic use. Moreover, this strategy may be readily adapted to other zeolite frameworks that can be functionalized by thiol groups.

Relationship between hydrothermal temperatures and structural properties of CeO2 and enhanced catalytic activity of propene/toluene/CO oxidation by Au/CeO2 catalysts.

A simple hydrothermal synthesis of CeO2 was implemented to obtain a series of CeO2-supported gold (Au) catalysts, used for the total oxidation of propene/toluene/CO gas mixtures and the oxidation of CO. CeO2 preparation started from a cerium hydrogen carbonate precursor using a range of different hydrothermal temperatures (HT) from 120 to 180°C. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and H2-temperature-programmed reduction data indicated that CeO2 morphology varied with the HT, and was composed of the more active (200) surface. Following Au deposition onto the CeO2 support, this active crystal plane resulted in the most widely dispersed Au nanoparticles on the CeO2 support. The catalytic performance of the CeO2-supported Au catalysts for both oxidation reactions improved as the reducibility increased to generate lattice oxygen vacancies and the number of adsorbed peroxide species on the CeO2 support increased due to addition of Au. The Au catalyst on the CeO2 support prepared at 120°C was the most active in both propene/toluene/CO oxidation and independent CO oxidation.

N-doped carbon layer-coated Au nanocatalyst for H2-free conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 5-methylfurfural

Deoxygenative upgrading of 5-hydromethylfurfural (HMF) into valuable chemicals has attracted intensive research interest in recent years, with product selectivity control remaining an important topic. Herein, TiO2 supported gold catalysts coated with a thin N-doped porous carbon (NPC) layer were developed via a polydopamine-coating-carbonization strategy and utilized for pathway-specific conversion of HMF into 5-methylfurfural (5-MF) with the use of renewable formic acid (FA) as the deoxygenation reagent. The as-fabricated Au/TiO2@NPC exhibited excellent catalytic performance with a high yield of 5-MF (>95%). The catalytic behavior of [email protected] catalysts was shown to be correlated with the suitable combination of highly dispersed Au nanoparticles and favorable interfacial interactions in the [email protected] core-shell hetero-nanoarchitectures, thereby facilitating the preferential esterification of HMF with FA and suppressing unproductive FA dehydrogenation, which promoted the selective formylation/decarboxylation of hydroxy-methyl group in HMF in a pathway-specific manner. The present NPC/metal interfacial engineering strategy may provide a potential guide for the rational design of advanced catalysts for a wide variety of heterogeneous catalysis processes in terms of the conversion of biomass source.

Robust immobilization of Au nanoparticles on snowflake structured covalent organic frameworks for highly shape-selective catalysis of cyclization reaction

Isoflavones, which are secondary metabolites, mostly possess potential in antioncogenic, cardiovascular action and antioxidant, etc. However, at present, the direct extraction of isoflavones from plants using enzymatic reaction is not only limited in source, but also low in efficiency. Therefore, it is a challenge to prepare isoflavones efficiently from easily available raw materials by chemical catalysis. In this work, a smart strategy of “amino acid regulated snowflake-structured covalent organic frameworks as alternative catalytic support” is proposed, which can control the pore size and disperse Au nanoparticles (NPs) by strong coordination between Au NPs and amino side chains. Importantly, it is interesting that the catalyst has good synergistic effects with shape-selective catalysis (99% vs 7%), pi-pi interaction of aromatic rings and excellent spatial confinement effect (20 Å vs 16 Å) during cyclization reaction using Au@COFs-01. In additon, the turnover frequency (TOF) can be enhanced to 530 h−1. Moreover, Au@COFs-01 can be easily regenerated for five cycles. The reaction mechanism and structure–activity relationship can be proposed by experimental and theoretical calculations. This method of constructing biomimetic COFs with biomass materials provides the basis for the application and design of novel COFs.

Covalent organic framework nanosheet anchored with highly dispersed Au nanoparticles as a novel nanoprobe for DNA methylation detection

Covalent-organic framework nanosheets (CONs) have received increasing attention in various fields. However, large-scale and high-yield preparation and flexible functionalization of CONs remain a challenging task. Herein, we designed and fabricated a novel ultrathin (<5 nm) vinyl-functionalized CON in large scale (>80 mg) and high yield (>60 %) via an imine-exchange synthesis strategy. Through post-modification strategy, the vinyl-functionalized CONs were sequentially modified with thiols and Au nanoparticles with high distribution density (mass ratio of CONs to Au was about 4:1) and narrow size distribution (3.5 ± 0.5 nm). The synthesized hybrid nanosheets were employed as material platform to design a novel nanoprobe for ultrasensitive detection towards cancer-associated methylated DNA. Integrating site-specific base oxidation damage strategy and target cyclic amplification effect, the well-designed CONs-based nanoprobe achieved high sensitivity for detecting methylated DNA as low as 10 fM and ultrahigh specificity for distinguishing 0.0001% methylation level. Noteworthy, the nanoprobe was successfully applied to the analysis of DNA methylation in human colon cancer cells, expanding the application scope of CONs and opening a new horizon to develop novel CONs-based nanoprobes.

Gold nanoparticles supported on poly (aniline-co-pyrrole) as the efficient catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol

In this study, copolymer of poly (aniline-co-pyrrole) (P(ANI-co-Py)) was synthesized through copolymerization with (NH4)2S2O8 (APS) as oxidizing agent. Au nanoparticles (NPs) were deposited on P(ANI-co-Py) through the Au sol adsorption technique to obtain Au/P(ANI-co-Py) catalysts. For comparison, Au/PPy and Au/PANI were also prepared under the same procedure. The samples were characterized by SEM, TEM, XPS, N2 adsorption/desorption, XRD and FT-IR. Results imply that the P(ANI-co-Py) can be successfully prepared and can stabilize the small Au NPs with highly dispersed state. As expected, the Au/P(ANI-co-Py) catalysts, especially Au/P(5ANI-co-Py5), show efficient performance compared with Au/PANI and Au/PPy in 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction. The outstanding catalytic activities of Au/P(5ANI-co-5Py) can be ascribed to well dispersed Au NPs, strong electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI), an appropriate adsorption of 4-NP and the negatively charged Au NPs surface. This work offers a facile method to provide conductive polymers supported Au catalysts with high catalytic performance and excellent reusability and clarifies their potential applications in industrial wastewater treatment.