┴ Araid Foundation.
KEYWORDSRecyclable, magnetically recoverable self-assembled structures, mesoporous silica, waterdispersible nanoparticles, magnetic properties, peptide-like bonding and hydrogenation.
ABSTRACTThe present work shows an efficient strategy to assemble two types of functional nanoparticles onto mesoporous MCM-41 silica nanospheres with high degree of spatial precision. In a first stage, magnetite nanoparticles are synthesized with a size larger than the support pores and grafted covalently through a peptide-like bonding onto its external surface. This endowed the silica nanoparticles with a strong superparamagnetic response, while preserving the highly ordered interior space for the encapsulation of other functional guest species. Secondly, we report the finely controlled pumping of preformed Pt nanoparticles (1.5 nm) within the channels of the magnetic MCM-41 nanospheres to confer an additional catalytic functionality to the multi-assembled nanoplatform. The penetration depth of the metallic nanoparticles can be explained as a result of the interplay between particle-wall electrostatic attraction and the repulsive forces between neighbouring Pt nanoparticles. A detailed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and 3-D HighResolution HAADF electron Tomography study was carried out to characterize the material and to explain the assembly mechanism. Finally, the performance of these multifunctional nanohybrids as magnetically recoverable catalysts has been evaluated in the selective hydrogenation of pnitrophenol, a well-known pollutant and intermediate in multiple industrial processes.3