Sub-Nanometer Thick Gold Nanosheets as Highly Efficient Catalysts.
Sunjie Ye, Andy P Brown, Ashley C Stammers, Neil H Thomson, Jin Wen, Lucien Roach, Richard J Bushby, Patricia Louise Coletta, Kevin Critchley, Simon D Connell, Alexander F Markham, Rik Brydson, Stephen D Evans
Author Information
Sunjie Ye: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK. ORCID
Andy P Brown: School of Chemical and Process Engineering University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Ashley C Stammers: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Neil H Thomson: Division of Oral Biology School of Dentistry University of Leeds Leeds LS9 7TF UK.
Jin Wen: Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR 166 10 Praha 6 Czech Republic.
Lucien Roach: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Richard J Bushby: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Patricia Louise Coletta: Leeds Institute of Medical Research St James's University Hospital University of Leeds Leeds LS9 7TF UK.
Kevin Critchley: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Simon D Connell: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Alexander F Markham: Leeds Institute of Medical Research St James's University Hospital University of Leeds Leeds LS9 7TF UK.
Rik Brydson: School of Chemical and Process Engineering University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
Stephen D Evans: School of Physics and Astronomy University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK.
2D metal nanomaterials offer exciting prospects in terms of their properties and functions. However, the ambient aqueous synthesis of atomically-thin, 2D metallic nanomaterials represents a significant challenge. Herein, freestanding and atomically-thin gold nanosheets with a thickness of only 0.47 nm (two atomic layers thick) are synthesized via a one-step aqueous approach at 20 ��C, using methyl orange as a confining agent. Owing to the high surface-area-to-volume ratio, abundance of unsaturated atoms exposed on the surface and large interfacial areas arising from their ultrathin 2D nature, the as-prepared Au nanosheets demonstrate excellent catalysis performance in the model reaction of 4-nitrophenol reduction, and remarkable peroxidase-mimicking activity, which enables a highly sensitive colorimetric sensing of HO with a detection limit of 0.11 �� 10 m. This work represents the first fabrication of freestanding 2D gold with a sub-nanometer thickness, opens up an innovative pathway toward atomically-thin metal nanomaterials that can serve as model systems for inspiring fundamental advances in materials science, and holds potential across a wide region of applications.
