Preparation of rGO–mesoporous silica nanosheets as Pickering interfacial catalysts

A series of reduced graphene oxide–mesoporous silica nanoflakes (rGO–MSN) with adjustable surface wettability were developed. Detailed SEM, TEM, XRD, BET, and TGA analyses demonstrated that morphologies, structures, porosities of the obtained composite materials were greatly influenced by rGO content. Moreover, micrographs and conductivity measurements were conducted to investigate the performance of rGO–MSN as emulsifier in stabilizing paraffin/water two-phase system. Furthermore, anchored with –SO3H, the modified hybrid nanoflakes SO3H–rGO–MSN-x% were employed as solid emulsifier and catalyst (Pickering interfacial catalyst) at solvent free oil–oil interface for acetal reaction and showed excellent dodecyl aldehyde conversion more than 90%.