In situ auto-reduction of silver nanoparticles in mesoporous carbon with multifunctionalized surfaces

The precise control of the surface chemistry, assembly processing, and size of each component is crucial to the construction of integrated functional nanocomposites. This article develops a novel in situ auto-reduction route, by which well dispersed silver nanoparticles can be easily fabricated in ordered mesoporous carbon. The mesoporous carbon functionalized with carboxylate groups was used to anchor glycol to form a novel reducing species (COOCH2CH2OH), on which Ag(NH3)2NO3 could be reduced in situ. Highly dispersed and small-sized Ag nanoparticles were thus obtained. The well designed composite has large surface area (836 m2 g−1), highly open mesopores (∼4.2 nm), and stably confined but accessible Ag nanoparticles and, as a result, shows a high performance in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP).