Eur. Phys. J. D 34, 125-128 (2005)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2005-00132-7

Oxidation activity of Au nanoparticles on aerogel supports

¹ Materials Research Institute for Sustainable Development, Chubu Research Base of National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 463-8560 Nagoya, Japan
² Nanotechnology Research Institute, AIST, 305-8568 Tsukuba, Japan
³ Research Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry, AIST, 305-8565 Tsukuba, Japan

Corresponding author: ^a tai.y@aist.go.jp

Received: 6 September 2004
Published online: 13 July 2005

Abstract

We have prepared titania aerogel and titania-coated silica aerogel incorporating thiol-capped Au nanoparticles. Both composite materials showed high CO oxidation activity after they were calcined at 673 K. Compositional and morphological changes driven by calcination were evaluated with thermogravimetry and X-ray diffractometry. From the results, it was suggested that the nanoparticles transformed from a faulted to a near-regular FCC structure presumably in concert with the formation of firm contacts between the nanoparticles and the gel substrates. While the diameters of the Au particles in the titania aerogel considerably increased upon calcination, those in the titania-coated silica aerogel were almost unchanged. As a consequence, the latter composite aerogel showed higher activity for oxidation of CO.