Synthesis and applications of mesoporous nanocomposites containing metal nanoparticles

Abstract

Metal nanoparticles (NP) and mesoporous (MP) oxides are complementary materials, since the size scale of pores in MP oxides matches that of NP and both systems have potential applications in similar fields. Besides, nanocomposites obtained through their combination possess not only the intrinsic properties of each component, but also new features derived from the synergy between them, mainly due to the high interfacial area between the metal and the oxide. Thus, new optical, catalytic and sensing properties can be achieved that are not easily available from the individual components. In this review, we focus our attention on such NP@MP composites, not only from the point of view of the most common synthesis pathways but also briefly describing their applications in fields as diverse as (photo)catalysis, sensing, photochromism and other optical properties, as well as patterning.