Monodispersed Ni Nanoparticles Supported on Porous Glass: Composition and Size Controllable Synthesis

We have put forward a facile and efficient strategy to immobilize Ni nanoparticles on porous glass by integrating two processes of ion-exchange and reduction in one step. The in situ method avoids the use of high temperature and stabilizers which may reduce catalytic activity. The adsorption process could be described by a Langmuir model with the adsorption capacity of 46.4 ± 0.9 mg/g. Monodispersed Ni nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 1.8 nm showed high catalytic activity for cyclohexene hydrogenation. When the Ni content was 1.144 wt %, 100% conversion was obtained with the space time of only 17.7 s. Notably, the strategy may also be applied to other base metal nanoparticles. Cu and Co nanoparticles with the mean diameter of 5.7 and 3.4 nm were successfully immobilized, respectively. This method may be readily changed to prepare other supported transition-metal nanoparticles with catalytic properties and opens new avenues to coordination catalysis.