Brückenschlag in der Katalyse: Immobilisierung von molekularen Katalysatoren in funktionellen Materialien

Stöber silica particles as basis for redox modifications: particle shape, size, polydispersity, and porosity

The synthesis of Stöber silica particles as basis for redox modifications is optimized for desired properties, in particular diameter in a wide sub-micrometer range, spherical shape, monodispersity, the absence of porosity, and aggregation free isolability for characterization and later covalent modification. The materials are characterized by SEM, DLS, nitrogen sorption isotherms, helium as well as Gay-Lussac (water) pycnometry, and DRIFT spectroscopy. Particles with diameters between approximately 50 and 800 nm are obtained by varying the concentrations of the reagents and reactants, the type of solvent as well as the temperature. The use of high water concentrations and post-synthetic calcination at 600 °C results in silica particles that can be considered as nonporous with respect to the size of the active molecules to be immobilized. The effect of reaction temperature on size distribution is identified. Low polydispersity is achieved by performing the reaction in a temperature range in which a change in temperature has only a weak or no effect on the final particle diameter. Upon optimization of the sol-gel process, the shape of the particles is still spherical. The agreement between experimental and geometric data is within the expected precision of the characterization techniques.

Catalytic self-assembled monolayers on Au nanoparticles: the source of catalysis of a transphosphorylation reaction

The catalytic activity of a series of Au monolayer protected colloids (Au MPCs) containing different ratios of the catalytic unit triazacyclononane⋅Zn(II) (TACN⋅Zn(II) ) and an inert triethyleneglycol (TEG) unit was measured. The catalytic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are highly efficient in the transphosphorylation of 2-hydroxy propyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate (HPNPP), an RNA model substrate, exhibiting maximum values for the Michaelis-Menten parameters k(cat) and K(M) of 6.7×10(-3) s(-1) and 3.1×10(-4) M, respectively, normalized per catalytic unit. Despite the structural simplicity of the catalytic units, this renders these nanoparticles among the most active catalysts known for this substrate. Both k(cat) and K(M) parameters were determined as a function of the mole fraction of catalytic unit (x(1)) in the SAM. Within this nanoparticle (NP) series, k(cat) increases up till x(1) ≈0.4, after which it remains constant and K(M) decreases exponentially over the range studied. A theoretical analysis demonstrated that these trends are an intrinsic property of catalytic SAMs, in which catalysis originates from the cooperative effect between two neighboring catalytic units. The multivalency of the system causes an increase of the number of potential dimeric catalytic sites composed of two catalytic units as a function of the x(1) , which causes an apparent increase in binding affinity (decrease in K(M)). Simultaneously, the k(cat) value is determined by the number of substrate molecules bound at saturation. For values of x(1) >0.4, isolated catalytic units are no longer present and all catalytic units are involved in catalysis at saturation. Importantly, the observed trends are indicative of a random distribution of the thiols in the SAM. As indicated by the theoretical analysis, and confirmed by a control experiment, in case of clustering both k(cat) and K(M) values remain constant over the entire range of x(1) .

Functional materials: from hard to soft porous frameworks

This Review aims to give an overview of recent research in the area of porous, organic-inorganic and purely organic, functional materials. Possibilities for introducing organic groups that exhibit chemical and/or physical functions into porous materials will be described, with a focus on the incorporation of such functional groups as a supporting part of the pore walls. The number of organic groups in the network can be increased such that porous, purely organic materials are obtained.