Preparation of magnetic mesoporous core-shell nanocomposites for cinnamic acid hydrogenation

A novel magnetic mesoporous core-shell nanocomposite Fe3O4@nSiO(2)@mSiO(2)@Ni-Co-B was prepared by the combination of a modified Stober sol-gel process, a surfactant-templating method and self-assembly. It has a multi-shell structure with ferroferric oxide as core, dense nonporous silica and mesoporous silica as middle layers in sequence and an Ni-Co-B amorphous alloy as outer layer, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. This nanocomposite showed high activity and good selectivity in the selective hydrogenation of cinnamic acid to hydrocinnamic acid. Notably, it can be easily separated by a magnet after reaction due to its high magnetism and recycled effectively five times.