ABSTRACT
The use of nanoparticles (NPs) in chemical synthesis has increased dramatically in recent decades. One of the most critical challenges for creating highly effective heterogeneous catalysts is synthesizing oxide particles of variable sizes and shapes at the nanoscale. Rapid advances in nanotechnology have permitted the creation of oxide particles with varying sizes and forms on the nanoscale scale. It has been conceptually and empirically demonstrated that nanometer-sized oxide particles’ geometric and electrical properties differ primarily from their bulk structures, reducing the size of oxide particles to the nanoscale level, for example, less than 10 nm greatly enhances catalytic activity and selectivity. The size effect refers to the fact that reducing the size of oxide nanoparticles can significantly increase the number of active sites, which are often found around the edges, corners, and steps. In this chapter, we discuss the role of oxide nanoparticles in the heterogeneous catalysis of organic reactions.
