Metal-organic composites: The heterogeneous organic doping of the coin metals-copper, silver, and gold

We have continued the development of the novel family of organically doped metals. Two new aspects are described for these metal-organic composites: first, the doping is extended beyond silver to copper and gold, showing the generality of the concept; and second, a heterogeneous method of entrapment has been developed, in which the metal cation (of copper, silver, or gold) is reduced in the presence of the molecule to be entrapped using another metal that is higher in the electrochemical series (zinc for copper and silver cations, and copper for the gold cation). The three coin metals were doped with either a dye, thionin, or a polymer, Nafion. The procedure proved to be simple and quick. Characterization of these new composite materials included X-ray diffraction measurements, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, surface area, porosity, thermogravimetric analysis, and density measurements. An outlook for potential application of these metal-organic composites is provided.