Polyurea-supported metal nanocatalysts: Synthesis, characterization and application in selective hydrogenation of o-chloronitrobenzene

Direct Synthesis of Polyurea Thermoplastics from CO2 and Diamines

The transformation of CO₂ into polymeric materials is an important and hot research topic from the viewpoint of renewable resources and environmental effects. Herein, a series of polyureas have been synthesized by polycondensation from CO₂ with diamines of 1,12-diaminododecane (DAD) and/or 4,7,10-trioxa-1,13-tridecanediamine (TTD). The properties of polyureas synthesized were characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, XRD, DSC, TGA, and DMA. The polyureas synthesized from CO₂ with a mixture of diamines presented high performances compared to those of polyureas synthesized from CO₂ with a single diamine. The thermal and mechanical properties were improved largely by the variation in the crystallization and the chain flexibility depending on the changes in the density and/or intensity of hydrogen bonds. With increasing amounts of TTD from 0 to 100% in weight, the melting (T_m), crystallization (T_c), and glass transition (T_g) temperatures decreased from 207 to 116 °C, from 181 to 54 °C, and from 66 to -34 °C, respectively. When the TTD content was increased from 0 to 50 wt %, the Young's modulus decreased from 1170 to 406 MPa, and the tensile strength decreased from 53.3 to 42.9 MPa. However, the elongation at break increased from 13 to 330%. Furthermore, the chain length of aliphatic diamines and polyetheramines had a significant effect on the mechanical properties. The initial decomposition temperature (T_d,5%) is >295 °C, about 110 °C higher than the T_m (116-207 °C), which is advantageous for the postprocessing. The mechanical properties of the polyureas synthesized herein are superior to those of polycarbonate and polyamide 6. Thus, polyureas synthesized from the renewable and cheap resources, CO₂ and diamines, will find wide potential applications in the field of polymeric materials.

Cobalt nanoparticles supported on N-doped mesoporous carbon as a highly efficient catalyst for the synthesis of aromatic amines

Inexpensive and reusable transition metal heterogeneous catalysts exhibiting excellent catalytic performance represent an attractive alternative to noble metal and homogeneous catalysts. In this work, we fabricated a novel nanocatalyst comprised of Co nanoparticles (NPs) supported on a N-doped mesoporous carbon (Co/mCN-900) by simple one-pot pyrolysis of a homogeneous mixture of melamine, polyacrylonitrile, and Co(NO₃)₂·6H₂O under a N₂ atmosphere at 900°C. The as-obtained Co/mCN-900 catalyst displayed a fluffy mesoporous structure with highly dispersed and accessible Co NPs acting as catalytic active sites. The Co/mCN-900 catalyst was effective in hydrogenating nitroarenes at milder conditions (i.e., 1MPa H₂ and 120°C) as compared to previously reported Co- and Ni-based catalysts. The Co/mCN-900 catalyst also catalyzed the reductive N-alkylation of nitroarenes with carbonyl compounds to form the corresponding aromatic secondary amines under very mild reaction conditions. In addition, the Co/mCN-900 catalyst showed good reusability since its morphology and activity were maintained after several reaction cycles. Therefore, this work provides a facile and promising method for fabricating non-precious transition metal-based catalysts with excellent performance and great potential for sustainable chemistry applications.

A Novel Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Supported on Hybrid Polymer/Metal Oxide as Catalysts for p-Chloronitrobenzene Hydrogenation

This contribution reports a novel preparation of gold nanoparticles on polymer/metal oxide hybrid materials (Au/P[VBTACl]-M metal: Al, Ti or Zr) and their use as heterogeneous catalysts in liquid phase hydrogenation of p-chloronitrobenzene. The support was prepared by in situ radical polymerization/sol gel process of (4-vinyl-benzyl)trimethylammonium chloride and 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate in conjunction with metal-alkoxides as metal oxide precursors. The supported catalyst was prepared by an ion exchange process using chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) as gold precursor. The support provided the appropriate environment to induce the spontaneous reduction and deposition of gold nanoparticles. The hybrid material was characterized. TEM and DRUV-vis results indicated that the gold forms spherical metallic nanoparticles and that their mean diameter increases in the sequence, Au/P[VBTACl]-Zr > Au/P[VBTACl]-Al > Au/P[VBTACl]-Ti. The reactivity of the Au catalysts toward the p-CNB hydrogenation reaction is attributed to the different particle size distributions of gold nanoparticles in the hybrid supports. The kinetic pseudo-first-order constant values for the catalysts in the hydrogenation reaction increases in the order, Au/P[VBTACl]-Al > Au/P[VBTACl]-Zr > Au/P[VBTACl]-Ti. The selectivity for all the catalytic systems was greater than 99% toward the chloroaniline target product. Finally the catalyst supported on the hybrid with Al as metal oxide could be reused at least four times without loss in activity or selectivity for the hydrogenation of p-CNB in ethanol as solvent.

Polyureas derived from CO2 and diamines: highly efficient catalysts for C–H arylation of benzene

Heterogeneous polyureas were effective for C–H arylation of benzene in the presence of t-BuOK, producing biaryl products in high yields up to 97%.