Multiple Cores‐Shell Structured Cu@SiO₂ Ultrathin Leaf‐Shaped Nanocomposite: Facile Fabrication and Excellent Selective Catalytic Hydrogenation Performance

Abstract

The facile preparation core‐shell structured Cu@SiO2 nanocomposites with high copper loading and dispersion still remains a difficult challenge. Herein, we report the efficient fabrication of a core‐shell structured Cu@SiO2 leaf‐shaped nanocatalyst which possesses multiple copper nanoplatelets with high content as cores and ultrathin mesoporous silica as shell. This catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic performance in gas phase catalytic hydrogenation of furfural (with furfural conversion of 97% and furfuryl alcohol selectivity of 98%) and liquid phase catalytic reduction of p‐nitrophenol to p‐aminophenol (with activity parameter =69.0×10−3 s−1 mg−1). This unique fabrication strategy is also successfully applied to synthesize multiple cores‐shell structured Ni@SiO2 nanosheet composite with uniform and ultrafine nickel particles and extremely high nickel loading. It is expected that this strategy can be expanded to other diverse multiple core‐shell architectures.