An efficient and reusable silica/dendrimer supported platinum catalyst for electron transfer reactions

A series of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) smaller than 3 nm were successfully encapsulated in dendrimer/SBA-15 organic and inorganic hybrid composite. The obtained catalysts were characterized by XPS, XRD and TEM. The results of XPS and XRD indicate the existence of Pt NPs in the hybrid matrix. TEM images display the Pt NPs with narrow size distribution are monodispersed in SBA-15 channels. Catalytic property of the supported Pt catalysts was investigated in inorganic (ferricyanide to ferrocyanide by thiosulfate) and organic (p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol by sodium borohydride) electron transfer (redox) reactions. In both cases, the reduction reactions followed smoothly and the catalysts showed excellent catalytic activity. Moreover, the catalysts can be easily separated and reused several times preserving good catalytic performance. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.