Hollow bifunctionalized silica nanosphere as catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of cyclohexane with molecular oxygen
Qiaohong Zhang, Honghao He, Tao Zhang
Nov 21, 2019
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Citations
Journal
Materials Research Express
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Semantic Scholar
Key Takeaway Key Takeaway: Hollow bifunctionalized silica nanospheres with cobalt ions show high catalytic activity and selectivity for selective oxidation of cyclohexane using molecular oxygen under mild conditions.
Abstract
Hollow bifunctionalized silica nanosphere was prepared through a one-step reverse microemulsion method. Surface hydrophobicity or superhydrophobicity was obtained with the introduction of various organic groups on its surface, and the catalytic active sites were created with the incorporation of cobalt ions in the bulk phase of SiO2. At the same time, a hollow structure was constructed to facilitate the diffusion of the substrate and oxygenated products. With this hollow superhydrophobic bifunctionalized material as catalyst for the selective oxidation of inert cyclohexane using molecular oxygen, high catalytic activity was successfully obtained with a good selectivity to cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol under mild conditions. The results indicated the potential for intentional design of the catalytic environment at a nanometer level with the combination of transition metal incorporation, surface organic modification, and hollow structure construction.