Preparation and catalytic performance of supported gold hemi-nanoflowers for alcohol oxidation

Abstract Anisotropic Au nanocrystals, such as nanoflowers, can be used as nanocatalysts with unique catalytic properties. The catalytic performance of supported Au nanocrystals is strongly affected by their support. However, supported hemi-anisotropic Au nanocrystals and their catalytic activity have not been investigated in detail. In this study, we prepared supported Au nanocatalysts with spherical, nanoflower, and hemi-nanoflower morphologies and examined their catalytic properties for the oxidation of 1-phenylethyl alcohol to acetophenone. CeO2-supported Au nanocrystals exhibited a higher acetophenone formation rate than that of α-Al2O3-supported Au nanocrystals with the same structure. In addition, the acetophenone formation rates of CeO2-supported Au nanocrystals increased in the order spherical < nanoflower < hemi-nanoflower structures. The obtained results indicate that supported Au hemi-nanoflowers can be used as highly efficient nanocatalysts.