Embedding catalytic nanoparticles inside mesoporous structures with controlled porosity: Au@TiO2

Abstract

The ability to produce catalytic nanoparticles with controlled properties is key to developing and producing heterogeneous catalysts with optimized activity and selectivity. No less important is to maximize the nanoparticle dispersion over high area supports maintaining their optimized properties. Here we detail a general procedure to produce heterogeneous catalysts containing a large surface area mesoporous support and highly dispersed catalytic nanoparticles with controlled properties. We exemplify the developed method using colloidal gold nanocrystals as the catalytically active phase and titanium oxide as the paradigmatic support. Our synthetic strategy is based on the growth of an inorganic organic hybrid mesoporous material from the surface of the colloidal nanocrystals. A variety of organic spacers allows tuning the final porosity of the support. The good accessibility of the active catalytic sites in these materials is demonstrated by high CO oxidation conversion values.

European Regional Development Funds

Spanish MICINN projects CSD2009-00050

Spanish MICINN projects MAT2011-29020-C02-01

Severo Ochoa Excellence Program SEV-2012-0267

Nafria, R.; Ramirez De La Piscina, P.; Homs, N.; Ramon Morante, J.; Cabot, A.; Díaz Morales, UM.; Corma Canós, A. (2013). Embedding catalytic nanoparticles inside mesoporous structures with controlled porosity: Au@TiO2. Journal of Materials Chemistry. 1(45):14170-14176. doi:10.1039/c3ta13346j.

Senia

14170

14176

1

45