Ultrasmall silver nanoparticles supported on silica and their catalytic performances for carbon monoxide oxidation

The ultrasmall Ag nanoparticles supported on silica were prepared by a novel and facile method, which was based on the introduction of the functional monomer salicylaldimine Schiff base into a SiO2 matrix. The ultrasmall silica-supported Ag nanoparticles were characterized by means of XRD, TEM, UV Vis, XPS and BET, and tested for CO oxidation. It was found that the catalytic oxidation of CO over the ultrasmall Ag nanoparticle catalysts was a strong size dependent reaction and the Ag particle size in a range of 3-5 nm was favorable for CO oxidation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.