Abstract
In this thesis, we report the preparations of novel multifunctional mesoporous silica materials. We apply the treatment of sulfuric acid to vacate the mesopores of mesoporous SBA-15 silica, followed by the surface functionalization of the mesopores to become hydrophobic. After low-temperature calcination to vacate the micropores, the resulting bifunctional SBA-15 silica has hydrophilic micropores as well as hydrophobic mesopores. In the first part of the thesis, we further graft the micropores with vinyl functional groups, which can then react with palladium salts and trap them in the micropores. After further reduction reaction, metallic palladium nanoparticles in the micropores of SBA-15 are formed. The palladium-containing nanocomposite catalyst show catalytic activity for the Heck reaction without any ligand present in the reaction mixture. In the second part, we selectively incorporate metal oxides, including titanium oxide, zinc oxide and iron oxide, into the micropores of SBA-15 without blocking the mesoporous channels, followed by the deposition of gold nanoparticles on the top of the metal oxides. The resulting novel gold nanocomposite catalysts are active for CO oxidation with or without the presence of moisture. Finally, the SBA-15-based nanocomposite with iron oxide in the micropores and hydrophobic mesopores is applied for cytochrome c adsorption. We find that the novel adsorbent with double surface interactions can achieve the highest adsorption amount near neutral pH condition (pH 6.5).