New nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts with increased selectivity and stability

Abstract

In this perspective, several examples of work from our laboratory are reported where colloidal or self-assembly chemistry has been used to design new catalysts with specific properties. In the first, platinum nanoparticles with well-defined shapes have been dispersed on a high-surface-area silica support in order to take advantage of the structure sensitivity exhibited by the interconversion between the cis and trans isomers of olefins. The second case involves the use of dendrimers as scaffolding structures to prepare catalysts with small platinum nanoparticles of well-defined size. Reduced sintering of metal nanoparticles on supported catalysts is accomplished in our third example via their encapsulation inside a layer of mesoporous silica deposited on top, after metal dispersion, and etched using a newly developed surface-protection process. The final project refers to the use of yolk@shell metal-oxide systems as nanoreactors for photocatalysis. In all those examples, new synthetic nanotechnology has been directed to address a specific issue in catalysis previously identified by surface-science studies.

Thermosensitive Au‐PNIPA Yolk–Shell Nanoparticles with Tunable Selectivity for Catalysis

“…They found that the thermoresponsive PNIPA shell with limited cross-linking allows for particularly efficient control of the catalysis of encapsulated Au nanoparticles. [13] Recently, yolk-shell structures that consist of a single metal nanoparticle within an inorganic [14][15][16][17] or polymeric shell [18,19] have become the subject of intense research. These systems can be used to tune the catalytic activity of the enclosed nanoparticle by a suitable architecture of the shell.…”

Effects of Mesopore Internal Surfaces on the Structure of Immobilized Pd-Bisphosphine Complexes Analyzed by Variable-Temperature XAFS and Their Catalytic Performances

“…Mesoporous silica is an ideal support material for the preparation of highly active catalysts because of its high surface area, inert nature of silica, and functionalization ability [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Among various approaches to functionalizing mesoporous silica, silane-coupling reaction, a reaction between surface silanol and functional molecules containing a trialkoxy group, is one of the most common procedures for the preparation of a supported catalyst.…”

Biomimetic Synthesis of an Ultrathin Platinum Nanowire Network with a High Twin Density for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity and Durability

“…[45] More research effort could be devoted to defect engineering in the design of novel catalysts. [46] Taken together, our studies demonstrate control on the production of unique nanostructures and structure-enhanced properties, which is the focal point of designing nanomaterials for various applications. .…”