Epoxidation of styrene over gold nanoparticles supported on organic–inorganic hybrid mesoporous silicas with aqueous hydrogen peroxide

A series of S-containing organic–inorganic hybrid mesoporous silicas were synthesized and used as supports for the fabrication of supported gold nanoparticle catalysts. It was found that the location and structure of organic moieties in these mesostructures played a crucial role in the dispersion level of gold nanoparticles, and thus, had a significant effect on the catalytic performance. Under optimum conditions, the gold nanoparticles supported on a periodic mesoporous organosilica with bridging disulfide-ionic liquid moieties showed excellent catalytic performance and reusability in epoxidation of styrene in the presence of H2O2-acetonitrile. Moreover, whole epoxidation process and role of gold nanoparticles were proposed.