Probing of Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Using Transition Metal Clusters

Molecular clusters (homo‐ and bi‐metallic) have been used to gain structural information on nanoparticles of mesoporous silica (see Figure). Using scanning transmission electron microscopy, the spatial distribution of clusters has been imaged to determine the accessibility of the mesopores. The clusters are also used as “stains” to determine the exact location and number of functional sites within the substrates.