AuCu, AgCu and AuAg bimetallic nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and water remediation

Self-Assembling systems of amphiphilic molecules display structures similar to those of biomineralization natural systems. This allows to somehow mimic nature to synthesize nanomaterials with low polidispersity and with diverse morphologies. In this work we describe the synthesis and characterization of gold-copper, silver-copper, and gold-silver bimetallic nanoparticles by chemical reduction in self-Assembling systems of two surfactants. The nanoparticles were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. We have prepared a composite material using mesoporous silica as support of the AuAg bimetallic nanoparticles. The system was used in photocatalysis experiments for water remediation applications. Our results show that the AuAg/SBA15 composite material degrades methyl orange in water from 17 ppm to 4 ppm in 30 minutes.