The potency of electrostatic effects arising from nanoparticle (NP) surface in Au-NP-catalyzed reduction of charged substrates are presented. The electrostatic potential around Au NPs is controlled by varying the nature of ligands and ionic strength of the medium. Favorable interactions arising from the attraction between oppositely charged Au NP and substrates results in the channeling of substrates to the NP surface, which in turn enhances the catalytic reduction. The positively charged ([+]) Au NP outperformed other NP systems despite having comparable or even lower surface area for adsorption, proving the exclusivity of electrostatics in catalysis. At least an order of magnitude higher concentration of negatively charged ([−]) Au NP is required to compete with the catalytic activity of [+] Au NP.

中文翻译：

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揭示静电在金纳米粒子催化的带电基质还原中的作用

提出了纳米粒子（NP）表面在Au-NP催化的带电底物还原中产生的静电效应的效力。通过改变配体的性质和介质的离子强度，可以控制Au NPs周围的静电势。由带相反电荷的Au NP和底物之间的吸引力引起的有利相互作用导致底物向NP表面的通道化，进而增强了催化还原作用。尽管具有可比甚至更低的吸附表面积，但带正电（[+]）的Au NP的性能优于其他NP系统，从而证明了静电在催化中的排他性。为了与[+] Au NP的催化活性竞争，需要至少高一个数量级的带负电（[-]）Au NP浓度。