Formation of uniform hollow nanocages with heteroatom-doped MCM-41 structures†
Abstract
Monodispersed Al, Sn, Fe, Nb, Ti-doped hollow nanocages (approx. 120 nm) with MCM-41 molecular sieve structures were synthesized by reacting nanosized MCM-41 silica seeds with in situ coated heteroatomic species. The Al-doped hollow MCM-41 nanocages have significantly improved accessible acid sites, which show enhanced activity in catalytic hydrolysis of cellobiose.