Heterogeneous supported catalysts are often synthesized by impregnation or precipitation methods. Recently, melt infiltration has emerged as an alternative method that allows high metal loadings and eliminates the need for a solvent, but challenges arise regarding control over the particle size and distribution. In this work, melt infiltration for the synthesis of supported silver catalysts is explored. The narrow pore size distribution of the chosen ordered mesoporous silica support, SBA-15, allowed in depth in-situ and ex-situ characterization of the infiltration of the precursor, molten silver nitrate, into the support and its subsequent decomposition to form metallic silver nanowires or nanoparticles. The heat treatment parameters during decomposition played a key role in determining whether nanowires or nanoparticles were formed. The supported silver catalysts containing high silver weight loadings were investigated in the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde, where the silver nanowires showed superior activity and selectivity over the nanoparticles. Hence, melt infiltration shows great promise for the synthesis of supported silver catalysts containing high silver weight loadings, which are applicable in, e.g., selective oxidation or hydrogenation reactions.

非均相负载型催化剂通常通过浸渍或沉淀法合成。近年来，熔体渗透已经成为一种替代方法，该方法可实现较高的金属负载量并消除对溶剂的需求，但在控制粒度和分布方面存在挑战。在这项工作中，探索了熔渗法用于合成负载型银催化剂。所选有序介孔二氧化硅载体SBA-15的窄孔径分布允许在原位和异位深度进行表征前体熔融硝酸银渗透到载体中，然后分解形成金属银纳米线或纳米粒子。分解过程中的热处理参数在确定是否形成纳米线或纳米颗粒方面起着关键作用。在肉桂醛的选择性加氢中研究了载有高银重量负载的负载型银催化剂，其中银纳米线显示出​​比纳米粒子优越的活性和选择性。因此，熔体渗透显示出合成具有高银重量负载的负载型银催化剂的巨大希望，其可用于例如选择性氧化或氢化反应中。