Fabrication of High Efficient Silver Nanoparticle Catalyst Supported on Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)–Polyacrylamide

Fabrication of highly efficient silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) catalysts supported on polyacrylamide (PAM)-modified poly­(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) microspheres was reported herein, for where PAM was used as the robust anchors because of its abundant amide groups. Well-dispersed Ag NPs with an average diameter of 9.7 nm were obtained on the PGMA–PAM microspheres (Ag NPs@PGMA–PAM). Excellent catalytic activity of Ag NPs@PGMA–PAM was observed in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol using sodium borohydride in water at room temperature, indicated by an activity parameter that was 6–1725 times higher than those reported in the literature. In addition, easy regulation on the size of Ag NPs was achieved through the adjustment on the concentration of the Ag precursor, AgNO₃. Therefore, the synthetic method proposed herein was confirmed as being effective for the synthesis of the highly efficient catalyst Ag NPs@PGMA–PAM. This would contribute to the preparation of highly efficient catalyst of supported noble metals and then facilitate their applications in environmental protection