In this study, various concentrations of caffeic acid (CA) were used to synthesize gold nanoparticles (CA-AuNPs) in order to evaluate their catalytic activity in the 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction. To facilitate catalytic activity, caffeic acid was removed by centrifugation after synthesizing CA-AuNPs. The catalytic activity of CA-AuNPs was compared with that of centrifuged CA-AuNPs (cf-CA-AuNPs). Notably, cf-CA-AuNPs exhibited up to 6.41-fold higher catalytic activity compared with CA-AuNPs. The catalytic activity was dependent on the caffeic acid concentration, and the lowest concentration (0.08 mM) produced CA-AuNPs with the highest catalytic activity. The catalytic activities of both CA-AuNPs and cf-CA-AuNPs decreased with increasing caffeic acid concentration. Furthermore, a conversion yield of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in the reaction mixture was determined to be 99.8% using reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The product, 4-aminophenol, was purified from the reaction mixture, and its structure was confirmed by 1H-NMR. It can be concluded that the removal of the reducing agent, caffeic acid in the present study, significantly enhanced the catalytic activity of CA-AuNPs in the 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction.
Keywords: 4-Nitrophenol reduction reaction; Caffeic acid; Catalytic activity; Centrifugation; Gold nanoparticles.