A spectroscopic study of group IV transition-metal-incorporated direct templated mesoporous catalysts. Part 2. A comparison of Ti-, Zr-and Hf-containing materials

Ti, Zr and Hf ions have been incorporated into mesoporous silica using a novel one-pot procedure based on the true liquid crystal templating (TLCT) synthesis method. The nature of the metallic sites was assessed using diffuse reflectance UV-visible, photoluminescence and FT-IR spectroscopy. In situ adsorption of oxygen and ammonia probe molecules provided information on the accessibility of optically active species.