Polymer Single Crystal As Magnetically Recoverable Support for Nanocatalysts

Abstract

In this Letter, we report, for the first time, using polymer single crystal as magnetically recoverable support for nanoparticle catalysts. This catalyst system is composed of polymer single crystal, platinum nanoparticles, and iron oxide nanoparticles, which act as support, catalysts, and magnetic responsive materials, respectively. Platinum nanoparticles and iron oxide nanoparticles were bonded onto thiol groups and hydroxyl groups on a tailor-designed polymer single-crystal surface. Because of its quasi 2D nature, polymer single crystal possesses high surface area to volume ratio (2.5 × 10⁸ m^–1), which is ∼40 times higher than its nanosphere counterpart of the same volume. This high surface to volume ratio facilitates the high loading of both nanoparticles, which ensures efficient catalytic reaction and reliable nanoparticle recycling. Synergetic interactions between platinum and iron oxide nanoparticles also led to further improvement in catalytic activity