In-situ growth of Ag on mussel-inspired polydopamine@poly(M-POSS) hybrid nanoparticles and their catalytic activity

Abstract

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanoparticles have gain much attention due to their organic and inorganic hybrid structure that combine with metal nanoparticles to improve their functional properties for utilize in potential application areas. In this study, we first time present a green route for in-situ growth of silver on the surface of POSS based support particles by using mussel inspired polydopamine (PDA) coating. The POSS based nanocomposite support were synthesized by free radical mechanism in one-step emulsion polymerization of methacryl(M)-POSS monomer. Smooth spherical shape in size range of 200 nm-400 nm poly(M-POSS) hybrid latex particles were covered by the functional amine and catechol groups of PDA. Silver layer were growth on PDA@poly(M-POSS) nanocomposite template. The novel multi-functional Ag@PDA@poly(M-POSS) nanocomposite particles were fully characterized by SEM, EDAX, XRD and FTIR analysis. The catalytic activity of the particles was checked by pseudo-first order kinetic reaction of nitrophenol compound, which is highly toxic for environment. The catalytic reaction performance was discussed by varying the catalyst amount and concentration of 4-nitrophenol. Compare to similar catalysts, results showed that Ag@PDA@poly(M-POSS) nanocomposite particles exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the rapid degradation of 4-NP.