A new bio-inspired route to prepare silver nanoparticle-based heterogeneous catalysts

Debecker, Damien P. [UCL] Faure, Chrystel [CRPP] Meyre, Marie-Edith [CRPP] Gaigneaux, Eric M. [UCL]

Chemical reactions often require metal-based catalysts which usually demand small and stable metal particles. However, classical preparation methods often imply a thermal treatment during which sintering phenomena are hardly controlled. Onion-type multilamellar vesicles (MLVs), mainly known for their potential applications in biotechnology, can be used for the spontaneous and controlled production of metal nanoparticles. This process has the advantage of not requiring any thermal treatment. The possibility to use preformed and tailored nanoparticles formed through this bio-inspired route for the preparation of metal nanoparticle-based catalysts is presented here. This innovative concept takes advantage of the expertise in nanobiotechnology to answer issues encountered in the field of inorganic catalysis.