Reaction of the novel Ru3(CO)10[Ph2P(CH2)2Si(OEt3)]2 complex on SBA-15 and MCM-41 mesoporous silicas

The reaction of Ru3(CO)12 with 2(diphenylphosphino)ethyl-triethoxysilane (DPTS) in hydrocarbons, leads to the functionalized Ru3(CO)12−n [Ph2P(CH2)2Si(OEt3)] n (n = 1,2) complexes. The complex with two phosphine substituents was chemically anchored on mesoporous silicas, SBA-15 and MCM-41, in order to obtain two hybrid materials characterized by a different localization of the metal centre on the surface of the porous supports. A detailed investigation of the cluster, before and after chemical anchoring on the mesoporous silicas, was pursued. Particular attention was also devoted to the study of the morphological, structural and textural properties of the metal-functionalised silicas (Ru/SBA-15 and Ru/MCM-41) by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and N2 physisorption analysis.