Polymer particles with dendrimer@SiO2-Ag hierarchical shell and their application in catalytic column

► Polymer particles with dendrimer@SiO2-Ag hierarchical shell were prepared. ► Hierarchical particles packed in the catalytic column for the reduction of 4-NP. ► Under column pressure SiO2 plays a better role in immobilization of Ag than PAMAM. ► Packing catalytic nanoparticles in column improves the efficiency. ► Reduce tedious separation processes in catalytic reaction.