Thermally stable gold/alumina aerogel catalysts prepared by a simultaneous synthesis process for solvent-free aerobic benzyl alcohol oxidation

Gold nanoparticles supported on an alumina aerogel have been prepared through a simultaneous synthesis process in which the formation of the gold nanoclusters capped with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and the hydrolyzation/co-condensation of the APTES and aluminum alkoxide occur concurrently. The obtained gold nanoparticles are trapped in and physically protected by the framework of the alumina aerogel providing excellent thermal stability with no observable sintering at 650 °C. In the catalysis test for the solvent-free aerobic benzyl alcohol oxidation, this catalyst exhibits significantly better activity than reference gold/alumina aerogel catalysts prepared through a deposition precipitation and conventional wet impregnation methods, especially at high temperature.