Nanogold supported ceria modified mesoporous silica for the conversion of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol

Abstract Synthesis of 4-Aminophenol (4-AP) is of much interested area as it serves as a crucial intermediary in the production of antipyretic medications, analgesics, dye stuffs, corrosion inhibitor, photographic developer, etc. Gold nanoparticles with an average particle size below 5 nm were effectively dispersed over ceria loaded SBA-15. The nanogold supported systems were found to be highly effective in the conversion of 4-Nitrophenol to 4-Aminophenol at room temperature (304 K) obeying pseudo first order kinetics. The highly effective catalyst with 3 weight % Au incorporation over 20 weight % Ce loaded SBA-15 (3Au/20Ce/SBA) showed a maximum conversion with a rate constant value of 4.63×10 −3 s −1 .