Construction of hollow mesoporous silica nanoreactors for enhanced photo-oxidations over Au-Pt catalysts
Hao Tian, Jinhui Zhao, Xinyao Wang, Lizhuo Wang, Hao Liu, Guoxiu Wang, Jun Huang, Jian Liu, Gao Qing Lu
Abstract
Abstract It is highly desirable to design hollow structures with multi-scale functions by mimicking cells for the construction of micro/nanoreactors. Herein, we report the construction of hollow-structured submicrometer-photoreactors with bimetallic catalysts loaded within mesoporous silicas. The synthesis parameters are optimized to study the evolution of hollow structure through hydrothermal treatment and an ‘adhesive-contraction’ formation mechanism is proposed. AuPt@HMZS catalysts exhibited a broader absorbance region under visible light and the adsorption edge displayed a red-shift, indicating the strong metal–metal interactions at the alloy interface. The reaction performance of the coupled Au-Pt catalysts can be tuned to achieve excellent catalytic activity in cinnamyl alcohol oxidation to cinnamic acid for 3.1 mmol g−1 with 99% selectivity. The proposed strategy to build hollow structures as multifunctional micro/nanoreactors is promising for the design of high-performance and sustainable catalysts for chemical synthesis.