Patent ID: 7396795

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a supported nanocatalyst having highly dispersed catalyst nanoparticles anchored to a support, comprising: forming an intermediate supported catalyst, the steps comprising: (i) providing a solution comprising a plurality of catalyst atoms; (ii) providing a solution comprising a plurality of anchoring agent molecules, the anchoring agent molecules each having at least two functional groups, wherein at least one functional group is capable of bonding with the catalyst atoms and another functional group is capable of bonding with a support material; (iii) treating a support material with the solution of anchoring agent molecules such that the anchoring agent molecules bond with the support; and (iv) reacting the catalyst atoms with the anchoring agent molecules; and drying the intermediate supported catalyst while maintaining the temperature during drying below about 95° C., wherein the catalyst atoms agglomerate to form nanoparticles with an average particle size of less than about 20 nm, and the supported nanocatalyst comprises highly dispersed catalyst nanoparticles anchored to the support material.