Rational Design of Mesoporous Silica (SBA-15)/PF (Phenolic Resin) Nanocomposites by Tuning the Pore Sizes of Mesoporous Silica

The development of composite materials with functional additives proved to be an effective way to improve or supplement the required properties of polymers. Herein, mesoporous silica (SBA-15) with different pore sizes were used as functional additives to prepare SBA-15/PF (phenolic resin) nanocomposites, which were prepared by in situ polymerization and then, compression molding. The physical properties and structural parameters of SBA-15 with different pore sizes were characterized by N₂ adsorption-desorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties of the SBA-15/PF hybrid were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The mechanical, friction, and dynamic mechanical properties of SBA-15/PF nanocomposites were also studied. The results revealed that the pore sizes of SBA-15 have a significant effect on the resulting SBA-15/PF hybrid and SBA-15/PF nanocomposites. The thermal stability of the SBA-15/PF hybrid was dramatically improved in comparison with pure PF. The friction and dynamic mechanical properties of the SBA-15/PF nanocomposites were enhanced significantly. Specifically, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the nanocomposite increased by 19.0 °C for the SBA-15/PF nanocomposites modified with SBA-15-3. In addition, the nanocomposite exhibited a more stable friction coefficient and a lower wear rate at a high temperature. The enhancement in thermal and frictional properties for the nanocomposites is ascribed to the confinement of the PF chains or chain segments in the mesopores channels.

Successive oxidation–condensation reactions using a multifunctional gold-supported nanocomposite (Au/MgCe–HDO)

Successive oxidation–condensation reactions of substituted benzyl alcohol were carried out using a Au/MgCe–HDO nanocomposite catalyst.

Hollow-Shell-Structured Mesoporous Silica-Supported Palladium Catalyst for an Efficient Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling Reaction

The construction of a high stability heterogeneous catalyst for privileged common catalysis is a benefit in regard to reuse and separation. Herein, a palladium diphenylphosphine-based hollow-shell-structured mesoporous catalyst (HS@PdPPh2@MSN) was prepared by immobilizing bis((diphenylphosphino)ethyltriethoxysilane)palladium acetate onto the inner wall of a mesoporous organicsilicane hollow shell, whose surface was protected by a –Si(Me)3 group. Electron microscopies confirmed its hollow-shell-structure, and structural analyses and characterizations revealed its well-defined single-site active species within the silicate network. As presented in this study, the newly constructed HS@PdPPh2@MSN enabled an efficient Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction for varieties of substrates with up to 95% yield in mild conditions. Meanwhile, it could be reused at least five times with good activity, indicating its excellent stability and recyclability. Furthermore, the cost-effective and easily synthesized HS@PdPPh2@MSN made it a good candidate for employment in fine chemical engineering.

Scalable and Recyclable All-Organic Colloidal Cascade Catalysts

We report on the synthesis of core–shell microparticles (CSMs) with an acid catalyst in the core and a base catalyst in the shell by surfactant‐free emulsion polymerization (SFEP). The organocatalytic monomers were separately copolymerized in three synthetic steps allowing the spatial separation of incompatible acid and base catalysts within the CSMs. Importantly, a protected and thermo‐decomposable sulfonate monomer was used as acid source to circumvent the neutralization of the base catalyst during shell formation, which was key to obtain stable, catalytically active CSMs. The catalysts showed excellent performance in an established one‐pot model cascade reaction in various solvents (including water), which involved an acid‐catalyzed deacetalization followed by a base‐catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation. The CSMs are easily recycled, modified, and their synthesis is scalable, making them promising candidates for organocatalytic applications.

Heterogenization of polyoxometalates as solid catalysts in aerobic oxidation of glycerol

A series of heterogeneous catalysts LnPMo₁₂O₄₀ (L = Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺, Ti⁴⁺, Zr⁴⁺, Zn²⁺) and HxPMo₁₁LO₃₉ (L = Zn²⁺, Cr³⁺, Fe³⁺, Al³⁺, Ti⁴⁺) were prepared using a simple calcination treatment and were evaluated in aerobic oxidation of glycerol.

The fabrication of trifunctional polyoxometalate hybrids for the cascade conversion of glycerol to lactic acid

Lactic acid (LA) has been produced with cascade reactions under non-noble metal and base-free conditions.

Preparation of Fe(II)/MOF-5 Catalyst for Highly Selective Catalytic Hydroxylation of Phenol by Equivalent Loading at Room Temperature

The metal-organic framework MOF-5 was synthesized by self-assembling of Zn(NO3)2·7H2O and H2BDC using DMF as solvent by the direct precipitation method and loaded with Fe2+ by the equivalent loading method at room temperature to prepare Fe(II)/MOF-5 catalyst and the microstructure, phases, and pore size of which was characterized by IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET. It was found that Fe(II)/MOF-5 had high specific surface and porosity like MOF-5 and uniform pore distribution, and the pore size is 1.2 nm. In order to study the catalytic activity and reaction conditions of Fe(II)/MOF-5, it was used to catalyze the hydroxylation reaction of phenol with hydrogen peroxide. The results showed that the dihydroxybenzene yield of 53.2% and the catechol selectivity of 98.6% were obtained at the Fe2+ content of 3 wt.%, the mass ratio of Fe(II)/MOF-5 to phenol of 0.053, the reaction temperature of 80°C, and the reaction time of 2 h.

Precise 2D-Patterned Incompatible Catalysts for Reactions in One-Pot

Precise and direct two-dimensional (2D) printing of the incompatible polymer acid-base catalysts and their utility in one-pot two-step reactions were shown. Multistep catalytic reactions using incompatible catalysts in a one-pot reaction cascade requires special methods and materials to isolate the catalysts from each other. In general, this is a tedious process requiring special polymer architectures as the carrier for the catalysts to preserve the activity of otherwise incompatible catalysts. We propose the immobilization of incompatible polymer catalysts, such as polymer acid and base catalysts, on a substrate in variable sizes and amounts by precise 2D printing. The terpolymers with basic (4-vinylpyridine) and acidic (styrene sulfonic acid) functionalities and methacryloyl benzophenone as a UV cross-linking unit were used for 2D printing on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The printed meshes were immersed together in a reaction solution containing (dimethoxymethyl)benzene and ethyl cyanoformate, resulting in a two-step acid-base catalyzed cascade reaction; that is, deacetalization followed by carbon-building reaction. The time-dependent consumption of (dimethoxymethyl)benzene to the intermediate benzaldehyde and the product was monitored, and a kinetic model was developed to investigate the underlying reaction dynamics. The complexity of multistep Wolf-Lamb-type reactions was generally significantly decreased by using our approach because of the easy polymerization and immobilization procedure.

Yolk-Shell-Mesostructured Silica-Supported Dual Molecular Catalyst for Enantioselective Tandem Reactions

Yolk-shell-mesostructured silica was used as a support in the development of an active-site-isolated bifunctional catalyst that can mediate a sequential organic transformation. Herein, through immobilization, the location of two catalytic species is controlled: a base functionality is anchored in the channels of the outer silica shell and a chiral ruthenium/diamine functionality is anchored on the inner silica yolk. The result is a yolk-shell-mesostructured silica-supported active-site-isolated dual molecule catalyst. Structural analysis through solid-state carbon ¹³ C NMR spectroscopy reveals its well-defined single-site dual active centers. Electron microscopy investigations disclose its uniformly distributed mesoporous nanoparticles. As envisaged, this bifunctional catalyst enables a controllable aza-Michael addition/asymmetric transfer hydrogenation catalytic sequence, where the base-catalyzed aza-Michael addition of enones and amines to aryl-substituted β -secondary amino ketones is followed by a Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation. Various aryl-substituted γ-secondary amino alcohols are obtained in high yields and enantioselectivities via this one-pot enantioselective organic transformation. Furthermore, the heterogeneous catalyst can be applied in a continuous-flow process, which was shown to be particularly attractive for the practical preparation of aryl-substituted γ-secondary amino alcohols in an environmentally friendly medium.

Bifunctional Solid Catalyst for Organic Reactions in Water: Simultaneous Anchoring of Acetylacetone Ligands and Amphiphilic Ionic Liquid "Tags" by Using a Dihydropyran Linker

The use of solid catalysts to promote organic reactions in water faces the inherent difficulty of the poor mass-transfer efficiency of organic substances in water, which is often responsible for insufficient reaction and low yields. To solve this problem, the solid surface can be manipulated to become amphiphilic. However, the introduction of surfactant-like moieties onto the surface of silica-based materials is not easy. By using an accessible dihydropyran derivative as a grafting linker, a surfactant-combined bifunctional silica-based solid catalyst that possessed an ionic liquid tail and a metal acetylacetonate moiety was prepared through a mild Lewis-acid-catalyzed ring-opening reaction with a thiol-functionalized silica. The surfactant-combined silica-supported metal acetylacetone catalysts displayed excellent catalytic activity in water for a range of reactions. The solid catalyst was also shown to be recyclable, and was reused several times without significant loss in activity.

Cooperative Surface-Particle Catalysis: The Role of the "Active Doughnut" in Catalytic Oxidation

We consider the factors that govern the activity of bifunctional catalysts comprised of active particles supported on active surfaces. Such catalysts are interesting because the adsorption and diffusion steps, which are often discounted in "conventional" catalytic scenarios, play a key role here. We present an intuitive model, the so-called "active doughnut" concept, defining an active catalytic region around the supported particles. This simple model explains the role of adsorption and diffusion steps in cascade catalytic cycles for active particles supported on active surfaces. The concept has two important practical implications. First, the reaction rate is no longer proportional to the number of active sites, but rather to the number of "communicative" active sites-those available to the reaction intermediates during their respective lifetimes. Second, it generates an important testable prediction concerning the dependence of the total reaction rate on the particle size. With these tools at hand, we examine six experimental examples of catalytic oxidation from the literature, and show that the active doughnut concept gives valuable insight even when detailed mechanistic information is hard to come by.

Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials: Multi-Functional Solids for Multi-Step Reaction Processes

The design of new hybrid materials with tailored properties at the nano-, meso-, and macro-scale, with the use of structural functional nanobuilding units, is carried out to obtain specific multi-functional materials. Organization into controlled 1D, 2D, and 3D architectures with selected functionalities is key for developing advanced catalysts, but this is hardly accomplished using conventional synthesis procedures. The use of pre-formed nanostructures, derived either from known materials or made with specific innovative synthetic methodologies, has enormous potential in the generation of multi-site catalytic materials for one-pot processes. The present concept article introduces a new archetype wherein self-assembled nanostructured builder units are the base for the design of multifunctional catalysts, which combine catalytic efficiency with fast reactant and product diffusion. The article addresses a new generation of versatile hybrid organic-inorganic multi-site catalytic materials for their use in the production of (chiral) high-added-value products within the scope of chemicals and fine chemicals production. The use of those multi-reactive solids for more nanotechnological applications, such as sensors, due to the inclusion of electron donor-acceptor structural arrays is also considered, together with the adsorption-desorption capacities due to the combination of hydrophobic and hydrophilic sub-domains. The innovative structured hybrid materials for multipurpose processes here considered, can allow the development of multi-stage one-pot reactions with industrial applications, using the materials as one nanoreactor systems, favoring more sustainable production pathways with economic, environmental and energetic advantages.

Double-shelled hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres as an acid–base bifunctional catalyst for cascade reactions

Double-shelled hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres as an acid–base bifunctional catalyst for cascade reactions.

Heterogeneous catalysis by tungsten-based heteropoly compounds

In this review, the recent works on heterogeneous catalytic applications of polyoxotungstates in liquid-phase organic reactions are reviewed.

H3PW12O40/mpg-C3N4 as an efficient and reusable bifunctional catalyst in one-pot oxidation–Knoevenagel condensation tandem reaction

A single-site bifunctional catalyst for oxidation–Knoevenagel condensation tandem reaction was prepared by immobilizing H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ on mpg-C₃N₄via electrostatic interaction.

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation–Sonogashira coupling one-pot enantioselective tandem reaction catalysed by Pd(0)–Ru(iii)/diamine-bifunctionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica

Pd(0)–Ru(iii)/diamine-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation–Sonogashira coupling of iodoacetophenone and arynes is investigated.

Decoration of chitosan microspheres with Brønsted heteropolyacids and Lewis ion Ti: trifunctional catalysts for esterification to biodiesel

H₃PW₁₂O₄₀ is a commonly used Brønsted acid catalyst in esterification and transesterification reactions to produce biodiesel, for which homogeneous form and single acid sites lead to difficulties in separation and relatively less activity.

Cyclodextrin-clicked silica/CdTe fluorescent nanoparticles for enantioselective recognition of amino acids

Fluorescent sensors based on semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been immensely investigated for achiral molecular recognition. For chiral discrimination of amino acids (AAs), we herein report a versatile fluorescent sensor, i.e., CdTe QDs encapsulated with cyclodextrin (CD) clicked silica via layer-by-layer modification. The as-obtained hybrid molecular recognition platform exhibited excellent chirality sensing of AAs at micromolar concentrations in water. By taking advantage of the inclusion complexation of CD and the optical properties of the QD core, chiral discrimination was realized on the basis of the different binding energies of the CD-AA enantiomer complexes, as revealed using density-functional theory calculation. The fluorescent probe exhibited linearly enhanced photoluminescence with increased concentration of d-histidine at 0-60 μM and L-histidine at 0-20 μM. These water-soluble fluorescent sensors using a chiral host with a covalently linked chromophore may find applications in the robust sensing of a wide range of achiral and chiral molecules in water.

A trifunctional mesoporous silica-based, highly active catalyst for one-pot, three-step cascade reactions

We report the synthesis of a trifunctional catalyst containing amine, sulphonic acid and Pd nanoparticle catalytic groups anchored on the pore walls of SBA-15. The catalyst efficiently catalyzes one-pot three-step cascade reactions comprising deacetylation, Henry reaction and hydrogenation, giving up to ∼100% conversion and 92% selectivity to the final product.

Yolk–shell-structured mesoporous silica: a bifunctional catalyst for nitroaldol–Michael one-pot cascade reaction

A site-isolated yolk–shell-structured mesoporous silica for the nitroaldol–Michael one-pot enantio-relay reaction to convert aldehydes, nitromethane and acetylacetone to chiral diones is developed.

Enantioselective tandem reaction over a site-isolated bifunctional catalyst

An active site-isolated organoruthenium-/organopalladium-functionalized yolk–shell-structured mesoporous silica is developed and its application in the one-pot enantioselective tandem Sonogashira coupling–asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of haloacetophenones and arylacetylenes to various chiral conjugated alkynols is investigated.

Enhanced heterogeneous catalytic conversion of furfuryl alcohol into butyl levulinate

We study the catalytic condensation of furfuryl alcohol with 1-butanol to butyl levulinate. A screening of several commercial and as-synthesized solid acid catalysts shows that propylsulfonic acid-functionalized mesoporous silica outperforms the state-of-the-art phosphotungstate acid catalysts. The catalyst is prepared via template-assisted sol-gel polycondensation of TEOS and MPTMS. It gives 96 % yield (and 100 % selectivity) of butyl levulinate in 4 h at 110 °C. Reaction profiles before and after a hot filtration test confirm that the active catalytic species do not leach into the solution. The catalyst synthesis, characterization, and mode of operation are presented and discussed.