Synthesis and characterisation by X-ray absorption spectroscopy of a suite of seven mesoporous catalysts containing metal ions in framework sites

MCM-41 type mesoporous silicas have been prepared in which one or more of the following elements are accommodated in framework sites: titanium, iron, chromium, vanadium, manganese, boron and aluminium. XRD and FTIR are used as aids to characterisation, which is achieved chiefly — and to a degree that arrives at valence states, bond lengths and coordination numbers of the metal ion — by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Ti-containing MCM-41, as well as the Fe-, V- and Cr-containing variants, yield self-consistent, XAS-based, structural data of the respective metal-ion sites. Some of these (especially those containing Ti) are exceptionally good catalysts for the selective oxidation of large organic molecules such as limonene and norbornene.