Sunlight induced unique morphological transformation in graphene based nanohybrids: appearance of a new tetra-nanohybrid and tuning of functional property of these nanohybrids

In this study, sunlight was used for in situ preparation of gel-based various nanohybrid systems. A naturally occurring amino acid, l-phenylalanine derivative formed a hydrogel with graphene oxide (GO)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) at physiological pH. This hydrogel was then used in the presence of silver ions and diffuse sunlight to form initially a tri-nanohybrid system consisting of six atom silver nanoclusters, nanosheets, and nanofibers. Interestingly, a time-dependent morphological transformation occurs in this nanohybrid system to form one tri-nanohybrid to another tri-nanohybrid with the appearance of a novel, nanoscopic intermediate tetra-nanohybrid system consisting of four distinctly different nanomaterials (nanofibers, nanosheets, nanospheres, and nanoparticles). UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopic analyses, transmission electron microscopic, X-ray photo electron spectroscopic and MALDI-TOF mass spectral analyses with time were applied to characterise these morphological transformations in gel based nanohybrids. Time-dependent X-ray photo electron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis was used to uncover the mechanism for the transformation of silver nanoclusters to silver nanoparticles in the hydrogel matrix. Sunlight was used to trigger time-dependent structural transformation in the nanohybrid systems. Interestingly, one of these tri-nanohybrid systems (silver nanoparticles containing rGO based hydrogel) shows a catalytic property of reducing nitroarenes to aminoarenes and the catalytic efficiency can be modulated by changing the size of the silver nanoparticles with time in diffuse sunlight. The mechanism for different catalytic activities for different hybrids with varying size of silver nanoparticles has also been deciphered.