Polythiourea-Mediated Reconstruction of Ultrathin Gold Nanowires for Controlled Formation of 3D Porous Hybrid Films

To develop highly efficient and durable catalysts for addressing the critical challenges ascribed to the inherent limitations of conventional noble metal catalysts, including poor cycling stability and limited performance. Herein, we propose a polythiourea (PTU)-mediated reconstruction strategy to transform ultrathin gold nanowires (AuNWs) into three-dimensional porous hybrid films for the first time, achieving exceptional catalytic activity and stability. The sulfur- and nitrogen-rich functional groups in PTU induce the fragmentation and rearrangement of ultrathin AuNWs into a cross-linked porous network via Au-S and Au-N coordination, which not only maximizes the exposure of active sites but also enhances structural robustness. Under optimized conditions, the porous hybrid film achieves complete conversion of 2-NP within 14 min and retains over 98% of its initial activity after 10 consecutive cycles, outperforming most reported noble metal-based catalysts. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy indicates that the intensity changes of the spectral signals at the two wavenumbers were consistent, reflecting the synchronous enhancement of both the π → π* transition in the phenyl ring of 2-NP and the generation of 2-NP reduction intermediates during the catalytic conversion process. In general, this work provides a novel "destruction-reconstruction-functionalization" paradigm for designing polymer-metal hybrid catalysts, offering broad implications for sustainable catalytic technologies in environmental and industrial applications.