Development of metal catalysts supported on porous polymeric scaffolds

A. SANTUCHO; S. ALVAREZ CERIMEDO; SCHROEDER, WALTER F.; A. AYUDE; H. E. ROMEO; C. E. HOPPE

Mar del Plata

Simposio; XVI SIMPOSIO LATINOAMERICANO DE POLÍMEROS Y XIV CONGRESO IBEROAMERICANO DE POLÍMEROS; 2018

INTEMA (CONICET-UNMdP)

biological and industrial processes, having ledconsequently to an increase interest on bothfundamental and applied studies. In this framework,the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by borohydridein the presence of metal nanostructures (MetNs) isfrequently employed as a model test to probe metalcatalytic activities, regarding the reaction simplicity andease of kinetic measurements.1 In recent years,strategies to improve the homogeneous dispersion ofMetNs on different materials towards increasinglyefficient catalytically active composites have beenpushed forward. A novel way to achieve 3D porousmaterials with structural anisotropic features consistsin the directional freezing of polymer/monomeraqueous solutions.2 The scaffolds thus obtained havecharacteristics that make them versatile platforms tobe functionalized by MetNs, while simultaneouslyoffering oriented porosity and high surface areas.Heading to anisotropic porous supports able to host Agnanowires (AgNWs) with catalytic activity towards thereduction of 4-NP, in this study we have preparedAgNWs/porous polymeric scaffolds by directionalfreezing of aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene glycol)dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) oligomers in the presence ofAgNWs. The activity of the nanostructures, both as adispersion and incorporated into the porous polymericstructures, will be compared and discussed.