Synthesis of composite ruthenium-containing silica nanomaterials from amine-stabilized ruthenium nanoparticles as elemental bricks

A facile synthesis of composite ruthenium-containing silica nanomaterials from amine stabilized-ruthenium nanoparticles as elemental bricks is described. This route takes advantage of an organometallic approach and the use of bifunctional H2N–(CH2)x–Si(OEt)3 amines as stabilizing ligands (x = 3, 11) for the synthesis of ruthenium nanoparticles, from [Ru(COD)(COT)] (COD = 1,3-cyclooctadiene, COT = 1,3,5-cyclooctatriene) as the metal precursor. Classical hydrolysis and polycondensation steps of the sol–gel approach further lead to the formation of the silica matrix around the ruthenium nanoparticles. [RuO2]@SiO2 nanocomposites are then obtained through a calcination step in air. The final composite nanomaterials were characterized by different techniques and they were found to possess a high specific surface area making them attractive materials for catalysis.