Maseko, Ncamisile NondumisoEnke, DirkOwolawi, Pius AdewaleIwarere, Samuel AyodeleOluwafemi, Oluwatobi SamuelPocock, Jonathan2025-06-042025-06-042025-02Maseko, N.N.; Enke, D.; Owolawi, P.A.; Iwarere, S.A.; Oluwafemi, O.S.; Pocock, J. The Influence of Gold Nanoparticles Addition on Sugarcane Leaves -Derived Silica Xerogel Catalyst for the Production of Biodiesel. Gels 2025, 11, 153. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels11030153.2310-2861 (online)10.3390/gels11030153http://hdl.handle.net/2263/102644DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.Biodiesel was produced via transesterification of canola oil in the presence of a silica xerogel catalyst with deposited gold nanoparticles. The silica-gold catalyst was produced in situ, where gold metal was added to a sodium silicate solution; subsequently, gold nanoparticles were synthesised within the solution. The sodium silicate-gold nanoparticles solution was then turned into a silica-gold gel at pH 8.7 and later dried to form silica-gold nanoparticles xerogel. The produced silica-gold nanoparticles xerogel was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), transition electron microscopy (TEM), and nitrogen physisorption. The gel had a silica content of 91.6 wt% and a sodium content of 6.4 wt%, with the added gold content being 99.5% retained. The biodiesel produced in the presence of silica-gold nanoparticles xerogel was characterised by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and its physical properties, such as density, kinematic viscosity, flash point, pour point, and cloud point, were also determined. The silica-gold nanoparticles xerogel catalyst remained solid throughout its usage without leaching into the reaction medium. The produced biodiesel contained mostly monounsaturated fatty acid methyl esters and had a yield of 99.2% at optimum reaction conditions.en© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Gold nanoparticlesSilica xerogelCatalyst supportBiodieselTransesterificationSugarcane leavesX-ray diffraction (XRD)X-ray fluorescence (XRF)Transition electron microscopy (TEM)Nitrogen physisorptionGas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS)Article