Novel mesoporous Ag@SiO nanospheres as a heterogeneous catalyst with superior catalytic performance for hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds.

Mesoporous core-shell structure Ag@SiO nanospheres are constructed to prevent Ag nanoparticles from aggregation during the hydrogenation reaction. The prepared catalyst shows superior catalytic performance for hydrogenation of nitro compounds with 100% conversion and selectivity without any by-products, which also indicates good recycling performance for several times use.