A mesoporous hollow silica sphere (MHSS): Synthesis through a facile emulsion approach and application of support for high performance Pd/MHSS catalyst for phenol hydrogenation

[Display omitted] ▶ Hollow sphere with mesoporous silica shell. ▶ A facile sol–gel/emulsion method. ▶ High surface area, narrow pore size distribution and good thermal stability. ▶ High catalytic performance (phenol hydrogenation) of Pd/MHSS. A facile route to synthesize mesoporous hollow silica sphere (MHSS) via TEOS emulsion droplet assisted with dodecyl amine (DDA) was developed in this work. The particle sizes of MHSS are around 400–600nm and the BET surface area is high up to 951m2g−1 and with a uniform pores diameter of 3.7nm in the silica wall. Thermogravimetric analysis found that the MHSS displayed good thermal stability. The effects of solvent, TEOS amount and DDA addition on the property of MHSS were also investigated. It was found that the solvent composition and the required DDA concentration are the key factors for the determination of hollow structure. Pd loaded MHSS catalyst showed high catalytic activity and good recycling ability in the liquid phenol hydrogenation under mild reaction conditions.