A novel method to obtain catalytic bio-nanocomposites based on chitosan containing different amounts of gold nanoparticles generated in situ is reported. The formation of gold nanoparticles takes place in solid phase assisted by a heating induced process. This method only involves the use of chitosan biopolymer and a gold salt precursor. Unlike other methods the addition of external reducing and stabilizing agents to generate gold nanoparticles, is not needed because these roles are played by chitosan. Therefore, the striking properties of chitosan (e.g., high functionality, biodegradability and biocompatibility) are profited, in order to design a facile and green route of synthesis. Additionally, the described method allows to vary the amount and size of the gold nanoparticles contained in the bio-nanocomposite by using different gold ion compositions and temperatures of heating process. Finally, the bio-nanocomposite performance as heterogeneous catalyst on the reduction of p-nitrophenol (4-NP) to p-aminophenol (4-AP) as a model system was assessed. The results showed a significant catalytic effect that increases as the content of gold nanoparticles in the bio-nanocomposite also increases.

一种基于壳聚糖的新型催化生物纳米复合材料的制备方法，所述壳聚糖含有不同量的原位生成的金纳米颗粒被报道。金纳米颗粒的形成在固相中通过加热诱导过程辅助进行。该方法仅涉及壳聚糖生物聚合物和金盐前体的使用。与其他方法不同，不需要添加外部还原剂和稳定剂来生成金纳米颗粒，因为壳聚糖发挥了这些作用。因此，壳聚糖的引人注目的特性（例如高功能性，生物降解性和生物相容性）是有益的，以便设计一种简便而绿色的合成途径。另外，所描述的方法允许通过使用不同的金离子组成和加热过程的温度来改变包含在生物纳米复合物中的金纳米颗粒的数量和大小。最后，评估了作为模型系统的生物纳米复合材料在将对硝基苯酚（4-NP）还原为对氨基苯酚（4-AP）方面作为非均相催化剂的性能。结果表明，随着生物纳米复合物中金纳米颗粒含量的增加，催化作用也显着增强。