Production of Metal Oxides supported on Mesoporous Silica Particles

The incorporation of metal oxides on porous support materials is of utmost interest for numerous applications. The use of ordered mesoporous silica (OMS) offers many benefits like a homogeneous pore size distribution resulting in a greater uniformity of catalyst behavior and improved mass transport performance. Common synthesis methods often result in the agglomeration of the metal species on the support material rather than a homogeneous distribution. As of today, the industrial production of metal oxide supported mesoporous silica is limited by the need of high temperatures, the usage of problematic chemicals, and long synthesis times.

The invention presented here tackles these problems by using an inventive, water soluble complex forming agent for incorporating the metal oxide into the process prior the formation of the mesoporous silica. The complex forming around the metal oxide species is incorporated into the forming silica framework thus enabling its ideal distribution. The process facilitates a one-pot production under atmospheric pressure, room temperature, and nearly neutral pH value. the long synthesis times are abolished by the nearly instantaneous formation of the silica upon mixing the reagents thus enabling the industrial production.