Nanocatalysis: Selective conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde using mono-atomically dispersed copper on silica nanospheres

Silica nanospheres, d similar to 30 run, are prepared at elevated temperatu re from an Si/SiO2 mixture. Under ambient conditions, the high population o f surface hydroxyl on these nanospheres, confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy, is probed by decorating the surfaces of the spheres with the metal complex co pper (II) acetylacetonate: Cu(acac)(2). This metal complex, known to be anc hored by the surface SiOH species, is converted into the active catalyst by thermolysis of the ligands. The resulting monatomic copper distribution fo rms a selective catalyst whose conversion efficiency appears to be at least comparable to if not better than CuO/fumed silica. In contrast to the fume d silica, the preparation of this catalyst support is environmentally benig n. (C) 2001 Academic Press.