Mesoporogen-Free Strategy To Construct Hierarchical Ts-1 In A Highly Concentrated System For Gas-Phase Propene Epoxidation With H-2 And O-2

Hierarchical TS-1 has attracted enormous attention from both academia and industry due to its remarkable catalytic performance in epoxidation reactions. However, sustainable synthesis of hierarchical-nanosized TS-1 without mesoporogens is still challenging. In this work, we report a facile and mesoporogen-free strategy to simultaneously manipulate pore structure and particle size of TS-1 employing the concentrated system. Taking advantage of the suspended nuclei in the concentrated system as confirmed by the DLS-PSD and atomic force microscopy, the novel TS-1 is demonstrated to have higher Ti concentration on surface, higher surface area (539 m(2)/g), abundant mesopores, and reduced crystal size (ca. 150 nm). Moreover, this Au-Ti bifunctional catalyst shows a good PO formation rate with enhanced catalytic stability due to the hierarchical structure. This strategy opens a novel way for the green synthesis of hierarchical-nanosized TS-1 and facilitates industrial development of the Au/TS-1 catalyst for propene epoxidation.