Magnetic recoverable catalysts; assessment on CTAB-stabilized goldnanostructures

Abstract

Highly active and magnetically recoverable colloidal catalysts were synthesized assembling iron oxide and platinum nanoparticles by means of mesoporous silica that upholds them as a core–shell structured system. Conveniently, these composites present multiple magnetic cores gaining special relevance in the catalyst’s recovery as responding to low magnetic fields. As a proof of concept, they were used to assess the retarded gold reduction in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) micelles, permitting to tune the gold reduction rate and therefore the production of spherical or anisotropic gold nanostructures.