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Noble metal nanoparticles loaded smart polymer microgels have gained much attention due to fascinating combination of their properties in a single system. These hybrid systems have been extensively used in biomedicines, photonics, and catalysis. Hybrid microgels are characterized by using various techniques but UV/Vis spectroscopy is an easily available technique for characterization of noble metal nanoparticles loaded microgels. This technique is widely used for determination of size and shape of metal nanoparticles. The tuning of optical properties of noble metal nanoparticles under various stimuli can be studied using UV/Vis spectroscopic method. Time course UV/Vis spectroscopy can also be used to monitor the kinetics of swelling and deswelling of microgels and hybrid microgels. Growth of metal nanoparticles in polymeric network or growth of polymeric network around metal nanoparticle core can be studied by using UV/Vis spectroscopy. This technique can also be used for investigation of various applications of hybrid materials in catalysis, photonics, and sensing. This tutorial review describes the uses of UV/Vis spectroscopy in characterization and catalytic applications of responsive hybrid microgels with respect to recent research progress in this area.

Methylene blue (MB) (3,7-bis (dimethylamino)-phenothiazin-5-ium chloride) is a harmful pollutant and has been long been known for its detrimental effects on human health. Over the recent years, many strategies including reduction, oxidation, biological and photochemical degradation have been reported for converting this harmful dye into commercially useful products. Among the aforementioned strategies, the nanocatalytic reduction of MB into its reduced counterpart, i.e. leucomethylene blue, is considered more preferable because it has been reported to have numerous applications in various industrial fields in the academic literature. The reduction of MB is the kinetically unfavorable reaction. Henceforth, various nanocatalytic systems utilizing different kinds of stabilization mediums have reportedly been used for speeding up this particular reaction. This article attempts to not only describe the fundamental properties of the reduction reaction of MB but also present the classification of the recently reported nanocatalytic assemblies on the basis of the utilized supporting medium. Various techniques used for the characterization of nanocatalytic systems reported for the reduction of MB have been summarized in this review. The thermodynamics, kinetics and mechanistic studies of this nanocatalytic reaction have also been narrated here. This critical review has been written comprehensively to abridge the recent research progress in the assemblage of nanocatalytic systems used for the reduction of MB and to propose some new ideas for further development in this area.

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The calculated UV-visible optical spectra at different levels of theory.