(562af) Enhancing Nitroarene Reduction with Magnetically Recoverable AuFe Nanoparticles and Localized Heating Produced By an Alternating Magnetic Field (AMF)

Gold nanoparticles are active reduction catalyst and are known to hydrogenate a variety of organic molecules (e.g., alkenes, carbonyls, nitroarenes, etc.) in the presence of a reducing agent (i.e. H₂) and are catalytically active under mild conditions (i.e., ambient temperature, etc.). Additionally, the activity, selectivity, and surface deactivation/fouling resistance can be enhanced by combining gold with secondary metal (e.g., bimetallic catalysts). A typical problem associated with gold catalysts is that under ambient conditions (i.e. room temperature and atmospheric pressure) reaction kinetics can be slow. Additionally, elevated temperatures are often used to enhance the catalytic activity of precious metal catalysts as well as reverse catalysts deactivation and surface fouling (e.g., regeneration). Using nitroarene reduction – a reaction seeded with environmental impact implications – as a probe reaction and an AuFe bimetallic catalyst, we hypothesize that applying an alternating magnetic field (AMF) will increase nitroarenes reduction reaction rates, via localized particle surface heating. Generated temperatures at the catalyst surface (e.g., the extent of localized heating) can be approximated with a temperature sensitive reaction - benzyl alcohol oxidation. Additionally, exploring different AMF exposure durations and provide a better understanding of operational effects on SAR.