In Situ Preparation of Au-SH@SO3H-SBA-15 Catalyst with Enhanced Activity and Durability in Alkyne Hydration

A facile approach was developed for synthesizing Au-SH@SO3H-SBA-15 with ordered mesoporous channels by reducing Au3+ to Au nanoparticles with SH-group bonded to silica support, followed by in situ coordinating Au with the unreacted SH-groups. This catalyst exhibited high efficiency in alkyne hydration owing to the high activity of uniformly dispersed ultrasmall Au nanoparticles, the diminished diffusion limit due to the mesoporous structure, and the promoting effect of acidic SO3H-groups resulting from oxidation of the SH-group by Au3+. Meanwhile, the catalyst could be easily recycled and displayed strong durability owing to the strong hydrothermal stability of mesoporous structure and the enhanced stability against Au leaching due to the Au-SH coordination bond.