Highly ordered magnetic mesoporous silicas for effective elimination of carbon monoxide

Catalysts based on crystalline nanoparticles of Fe metal supported on mesoporous silica have been developed. The synthetic process involves hydrogen reduction processing for high abundant Fe metal nanoparticles within the mesopores, in which impregnated Fe salt in the inner nanopores of mesoporous silica is thermally treated under hydrogen at 500 °C. Detailed characterization was achieved by XRD, XPS, BET, and HR-TEM techniques. The catalytic efficiency was demonstrated as a function of the used amounts and reaction time. The results show that more than 90% of the carbon monoxide was eliminated at room temperature during a period 80 min with 0.5 g of catalyst.