Aerobic Oxidation of Alcohols under Mild Conditions Catalyzed by Novel Polymer-Incarcerated, Carbon-Stabilized Gold Nanoclusters

Trends in Sustainable Synthesis of Organics by Gold Nanoparticles Embedded in Polymer Matrices

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have emerged in recent decades as attractive and selective catalysts for sustainable organic synthesis. Nanostructured gold is indeed environmentally friendly and benign for human health; at the same time, it is active, under different morphologies, in a large variety of oxidation and reduction reactions of interest for the chemical industry. To stabilize the AuNPs and optimize the chemical environment of the catalytic sites, a wide library of natural and synthetic polymers has been proposed. This review describes the main routes for the preparation of AuNPs supported/embedded in synthetic organic polymers and compares the performances of these catalysts with those of the most popular AuNPs supported onto inorganic materials applied in hydrogenation and oxidation reactions. Some examples of cascade coupling reactions are also discussed where the polymer-supported AuNPs allow for the attainment of remarkable activity and selectivity.

Hydrotalcite-Supported Ag/Pd Bimetallic Nanoclusters Catalyzed Oxidation and One-Pot Aldol Reaction in Water

A highly active hydrotalcite-supported Ag/Pd bimetallic nanocluster catalyst has been developed by a simple, easy and safe chemical reduction method. The catalyst was characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), which revealed very small (3.2 ± 0.7 nm) nanoclusters with a narrow size distribution. The bimetallic Ag/Pd catalyst showed strong cooperation between Ag and Pd for the alcohol oxidation reaction. The developed catalyst provided an efficient and environmentally friendly method for alcohol oxidation and one-pot cross-aldol condensation in water. A broad scope of α,β-unsaturated ketones with good to excellent yields were obtained under very mild conditions. This catalytic system offers an easy preparation method with a simple recovery process, good activity and reusability of up to five cycles without significant loss in the catalytic activity.

Water as a catalytic switch in the oxidation of aryl alcohols by polymer incarcerated rhodium nanoparticles

Rh nanoparticles that were inactive in toluene, were converted into a powerful catalyst for aryl alcohol oxidation by the presence of water in the reaction media.

Selective oxidation of alcohols by supported gold nanoparticles: recent advances

The review presents a commercially important field of alcohol oxidation using gold nanoparticles. It systematically discusses scope and limitation of various supports on the activity and selectivity of catalyst.

Novel access to carbonyl and acetylated compounds: the role of the tetra-n-butylammonium bromide/sodium nitrite catalyst

A novel aerobic oxidation of alcohols without the use of any oxidants was developed.

Aerobic flow oxidation of alcohols in water catalyzed by platinum nanoparticles dispersed in an amphiphilic polymer

Various alcohols were aerobically oxidized in an aqueous solution in a continuous-flow reactor containing a platinum nanoparticles dispersed in a polystyrene–poly(ethylene glycol) resin to give the corresponding carbonyl compounds in up to 99% yield.

Crystal structure of phen-yl(pyridin-2-yl)methanol

In the title compound, C₁₂H₁₁NO, the pyridine and phenyl rings are inclined to each other by 71.42 (10)°. In the crystal, O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules into helical chains extending along the c-axis direction.

Pd/C-catalyzed aerobic oxidative esterification of alcohols and aldehydes: a highly efficient microwave-assisted green protocol

We herein describe an environmentally friendly microwave-assisted oxidative esterification of alcohols and aldehydes in the presence of molecular oxygen and a heterogeneous catalysis (Pd/C, 5 mol %). This efficient and ligandless conversion procedure does not require the addition of an organic hydrogen acceptor. The reaction rate is strongly enhanced by mild dielectric heating. Furthermore, it is a versatile green procedure which generally enables the isolation of esters to be carried out by simple filtration in almost quantitative yields.

Tandem oxidative processes catalyzed by polymer-incarcerated multimetallic nanoclusters with molecular oxygen

Heterogeneous catalysis and one-pot tandem reactions are key for efficient and practical organic syntheses and for green and sustainable chemistry. Heterogeneous catalysts can be recovered and reused. These catalysts can be applied to efficient systems, such as continuous-flow systems. Tandem reactions often proceed via highly reactive but unstable intermediates. Tandem reactions do not require workup or much purification of the intermediate. This Account summarizes recent developments that we have made in the field of multifunctional heterogeneous metal nanocluster catalysts for use in tandem reactions based on aerobic oxidation reactions as key processes. We constructed our heterogeneous metal nanoclusters via two important procedures--microencapsulation and cross-linking--using polystyrene-based copolymers with cross-linking moieties. These frameworks can efficiently stabilize small metal nanoclusters to maintain high catalytic activity without aggregation and leaching of nanoclusters. Aggregation and leaching are prevented by weak but multiple interactions between metal nanocluster surfaces and benzene rings in the copolymer as well as by the physical envelopment of cross-linked polymer backbones. Small nanoclusters, including multimetallic alloy clusters (nanoalloys), can be "imprisoned" into these cross-linked polymer composites. The term we use for these processes is polymer incarceration. Direct oxidative esterifications were achieved with polymer-incarcerated (PI) Au nanocluster catalysts. Amides were synthesized from alcohols and amines under aerobic oxidative conditions with PI bimetallic nanocluster catalysts composed of Au and Fe-group metals that formed separated nanoclusters rather than alloys. Oxidative lactam formation from amino alcohols was also achieved. On the other hand, imines could be prepared selectively from alcohols and amines with PI Au-Pd bimetallic nanoclusters. We also achieved the integration of the aerobic oxidation of allylic alcohols and the following Michael reaction catalyzed by trimetallic PI catalysts containing Au-Pd alloy nanoclusters and tetraalkoxyborates as cross-linkers. All of these heterogeneous catalysts could be recovered by simple operations and reused without significant loss of activity or any leaching of metals. We have demonstrated that the polymer incarceration method enables the simultaneous immobilization of several metals, with which we can achieve one-pot tandem oxidative processes using molecular oxygen as an oxidant within the multifunctional heterogeneous catalysts. Suitable choices of metals and bimetallic structures are crucial for the reactivity and the selection of reaction pathways.

Facile synthesis of polystyrene/gold composite particles as a highly active and reusable catalyst for aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol in water

Herein is reported a facile synthesis of polystyrene/gold composite particles with high catalytic activity and good reusability for aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol under mild conditions.

Discovery of a metalloenzyme-like cooperative catalytic system of metal nanoclusters and catechol derivatives for the aerobic oxidation of amines

We have discovered a new class of cooperative catalytic system, consisting of heterogeneous polymer-immobilized bimetallic Pt/Ir alloyed nanoclusters (NCs) and 4-tert-butylcatechol, for the aerobic oxidation of amines to imines under ambient conditions. After optimization, the desired imines were obtained in good to excellent yields with broad substrate scope. The reaction rate was determined to be first-order with respect to the substrate and catechol and zero-order for the alloyed Pt/Ir NC catalyst. Control studies revealed that both the heterogeneous NC catalyst and 4-tert-butylcatechol are essential and act cooperatively to facilitate the aerobic oxidation under mild conditions.

Oxidative transformation of N-substituted 2-aminophenols to 2-substituted benzoxazoles catalyzed by polymer-incarcerated and carbon-stabilized platinum nanoclusters

The preparation of 2-substituted benzoxazoles was achieved through a sequential aerobic oxidation – enolization – oxidative cyclization reaction of N-substituted 2-aminophenols catalyzed by platinum nanoclusters supported on a polymer / carbon black composite material.