First Cu-nanostar as a sustainable catalyst realized through synergistic effects of bowl-shaped features and surface activation of sporopollenin exine

Abstract

Recently, nanostar-shaped structures, including gold nanostars (NS), have drawn much attention for their potential use in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and catalysis. Yet, very few studies have been conducted on Cu–Au hybrid NS, and there are none for Cu-based NS. Herein, we describe an effective method for controlling copper-oxide nanostar (ESP-PEI-Cu^I/IIO-NS) growth using sporopollenin as a sustainable template material. However, ESP-PEI-Cu^I/IIO-NS growth depends on sporopollenin surface functionalization. Sporopollenin surface activation was done by amine functionalization with polyethyleneimine (PEI), without which ESP-PEI-Cu^I/IIO-NS growth was not observed. The sporopollenin's exine (outer wall) has a bowl-like structure, which mediates the growth of Cu nanorods, resulting in an NS morphology. Furthermore, due to their increased surface area, ESP-PEI-Cu^I/IIO-NS showed excellent catalytic activity for Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions even when used in H₂O and without additives under green conditions. This approach utilising biomass as a sustainable template would pave the way for developing controlled growth of nanostructures for SERS-related and catalytic applications.