Towards the Broad Utilization of Gold Nanoparticles Entrapped in Organosilica

SiliaCat Au, a nanoscale gold sol-gel hybrid material, was employed in the selective oxidation of alcohols under solvent-free conditions with oxygen as the primary oxidant. The catalyst is recyclable, and a thorough structural investigation, which included thermogravimetric analysis coupled to mass spectrometry, revealed structural details that will be useful in the development of new applications for this functional material to other areas of catalysis, analytical chemistry, bioimaging, and photonics.