Application of Microwave-Assisted Deposition for the Synthesis of Noble Metal Particles on Ti-Containing Mesoporous Silica

A facile and unique methodology to synthesize the nano-sized and uniform noble metal (Pt and Au) particles has been developed using mesoporous silica support including single-site titanium oxide moieties (Ti-HMS) under microwave irradiation. Characterization by CO adsorption, XAFS, and TEM analysis revealed that the size of metal particles depends on the preparation methods and that the smaller sizes of metal particles were formed on the microwave-assisted metal catalysts compared to the conventionally prepared impregnated catalysts. These nano-sized metal catalysts are useful as efficient catalysts for the various reactions such as the hydrogenation of nitrobenzene and oxidation of CO. This method is also successfully applicable to the deposition of Au metal with smaller size on the Ti-HMS.