The present work reports a facile, microwave assisted one-pot synthesis of gold (Au) nanostructures with different morphologies. The Au nanoparticles were synthesized using an aqueous solution of AuCl 3 and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a structure directing agent. DMSO plays a crucial role in the synthesis as it acts as a reducing agent and capping agent. It also controls the crystal morphology of Au nanoparticles.The phase identification, morphology and elemental composition of the synthesized Au nanoparticles were studied using XRD, FEG-SEM, HRTEM and EDS respectively. In addition, we showed the catalytic activity of Au nanoparticles for the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol in the presence of sodium borohydride at room temperature. The catalytic activity was evaluated using UV-Vis spectroscopy. This is a simple, rapid, additive free, economic and greener approach for the synthesis of Au nanoparticles.
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