Pd nanoparticles in dendrimers immobilized on silica-polyamine composites as catalysts for selective hydrogenation

Designing Sites in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Are We Reaching Selectivities Competitive With Those of Homogeneous Catalysts?

A critical review of different prominent nanotechnologies adapted to catalysis is provided, with focus on how they contribute to the improvement of selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis. Ways to modify catalytic sites range from the use of the reversible or irreversible adsorption of molecular modifiers to the immobilization or tethering of homogeneous catalysts and the development of well-defined catalytic sites on solid surfaces. The latter covers methods for the dispersion of single-atom sites within solid supports as well as the use of complex nanostructures, and it includes the post-modification of materials via processes such as silylation and atomic layer deposition. All these methodologies exhibit both advantages and limitations, but all offer new avenues for the design of catalysts for specific applications. Because of the high cost of most nanotechnologies and the fact that the resulting materials may exhibit limited thermal or chemical stability, they may be best aimed at improving the selective synthesis of high value-added chemicals, to be incorporated in organic synthesis schemes, but other applications are being explored as well to address problems in energy production, for instance, and to design greener chemical processes. The details of each of these approaches are discussed, and representative examples are provided. We conclude with some general remarks on the future of this field.

Heterogeneous Dendrimer-Based Catalysts

The present review compiles the advances in the dendritic catalysis within the last two decades, in particular concerning heterogeneous dendrimer-based catalysts and their and application in various processes, such as hydrogenation, oxidation, cross-coupling reactions, etc. There are considered three main approaches to the synthesis of immobilized heterogeneous dendrimer-based catalysts: (1) impregnation/adsorption on silica or carbon carriers; (2) dendrimer covalent grafting to various supports (silica, polystyrene, carbon nanotubes, porous aromatic frameworks, etc.), which may be performed in a divergent (as a gradual dendron growth on the support) or convergent way (as a grafting of whole dendrimer to the support); and (3) dendrimer cross-linking, using transition metal ions (resulting in coordination polymer networks) or bifunctional organic linkers, whose size, polarity, and rigidity define the properties of the resulted material. Additionally, magnetically separable dendritic catalysts, which can be synthesized using the three above-mentioned approaches, are also considered. Dendritic catalysts, synthesized in such ways, can be stored as powders and be easily separated from the reaction medium by filtration/centrifugation as traditional heterogeneous catalysts, maintaining efficiency as for homogeneous dendritic catalysts.

Magnetically Recoverable Nanoparticulate Catalysts for Cross-Coupling Reactions: The Dendritic Support Influences the Catalytic Performance

Carbon-carbon cross-coupling reactions are among the most important synthetic tools for the preparation of pharmaceuticals and bioactive compounds. However, these reactions are normally carried out using copper, phosphines, and/or amines, which are poisonous for pharmaceuticals. The use of nanocomposite catalysts holds promise for facilitating these reactions and making them more environmentally friendly. In the present work, the PEGylated (PEG stands for poly(ethylene glycol) pyridylphenylene dendrons immobilized on silica loaded with magnetic nanoparticles have been successfully employed for the stabilization of Pd2+ complexes and Pd nanoparticles. The catalyst developed showed excellent catalytic activity in copper-free Sonogashira and Heck cross-coupling reactions. The reactions proceeded smoothly in green solvents at low palladium loading, resulting in high yields of cross-coupling products (from 80% to 97%) within short reaction times. The presence of magnetic nanoparticles allows easy magnetic separation for repeated use without a noticeable decrease of catalytic activity due to the strong stabilization of Pd species by rigid and bulky dendritic ligands. The PEG dendron periphery makes the catalyst hydrophilic and better suited for green solvents. The minor drop in activity upon the catalyst reuse is explained by the formation of Pd nanoparticles from the Pd2+ species during the catalytic reaction. The magnetic separation and reuse of the nanocomposite catalyst reduces the cost of target products as well as energy and material consumption and diminishes residual contamination by the catalyst. These factors as well as the absence of copper in the catalyst makeup pave the way for future applications of such catalysts in cross-coupling reactions.

Dendrimeric Structures in the Synthesis of Fine Chemicals

Dendrimers are highly branched structures with a defined shape, dimension, and molecular weight. They consist of three major components: the central core, branches, and terminal groups. In recent years, dendrimers have received great attention in medicinal chemistry, diagnostic field, science of materials, electrochemistry, and catalysis. In addition, they are largely applied for the functionalization of biocompatible semiconductors, in gene transfection processes, as well as in the preparation of nano-devices, including heterogeneous catalysts. Here, we describe recent advances in the design and application of dendrimers in catalytic organic and inorganic processes, sustainable and low environmental impact, photosensitive materials, nano-delivery systems, and antiviral agents' dendrimers.

Regulating Pd/Al2O3 catalyst by g-C3N4 toward the enhanced selectivity of isoprene hydrogenation

The catalytic performance of Pd NPs in the selective hydrogenation of isoprene is modulated by g-C₃N₄ deposits on commercial alumina supports.

Dendritic Polymers as Promising Additives for the Manufacturing of Hybrid Organoceramic Nanocomposites with Ameliorated Properties Suitable for an Extensive Diversity of Applications

As the field of nanoscience is rapidly evolving, interest in novel, upgraded nanomaterials with combinatory features is also inevitably increasing. Hybrid composites, offer simple, budget-conscious and environmental-friendly solutions that can cater multiple needs at the same time and be applicable in many nanotechnology-related and interdisciplinary studies. The physicochemical idiocrasies of dendritic polymers have inspired their implementation as sorbents, active ingredient carriers and templates for complex composites. Ceramics are distinguished for their mechanical superiority and absorption potential that render them ideal substrates for separation and catalysis technologies. The integration of dendritic compounds to these inorganic hosts can be achieved through chemical attachment of the organic moiety onto functionalized surfaces, impregnation and absorption inside the pores, conventional sol-gel reactions or via biomimetic mediation of dendritic matrices, inducing the formation of usually spherical hybrid nanoparticles. Alternatively, dendritic polymers can propagate from ceramic scaffolds. All these variants are covered in detail. Optimization techniques as well as established and prospected applications are also presented.

Palladium Catalysts Based on Porous Aromatic Frameworks, Modified with Ethanolamino-Groups, for Hydrogenation of Alkynes, Alkenes and Dienes

The current work describes an attempt to synthesize hybrid materials combining porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) and dendrimers and use them to obtain novel highly active and selective palladium catalysts. PAFs are carbon porous materials with rigid aromatic structure and high stability, and the dendrimers are macromolecules which can effectively stabilize metal nanoparticles and tune their activity in catalytic reactions. Two porous aromatic frameworks, PAF-20 and PAF-30, are modified step-by-step with diethanolamine and hydroxyl groups at the ends of which are replaced by new diethanolamine molecules. Then, palladium nanoparticles are applied to the synthesized materials. Properties of the obtained materials and catalysts are investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, low temperature N2 adsorption and elemental analysis. The resulting catalysts are successfully applied as an efficient and recyclable catalyst for selective hydrogenation of alkynes to alkenes at very high (up to 90,000) substrate/Pd ratios.

Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 templated synthesis of a heterogeneous Pd catalyst for remediation of chlorophenols pollution

Herein, a heterogeneous Pd catalyst was prepared by embedding Pd nanoparticles in a highly porous nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMCs) synthesized by the ZIF-8 template. The as-prepared Pd/NMC catalyst was efficient and recyclable in mild catalytic hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, showing superior performances to those of the activated carbon-supported Pd commercial catalysts.

Dendrimer-Encapsulated Pd Nanoparticles, Immobilized in Silica Pores, as Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of Unsaturated Compounds

Heterogeneous Pd-containing nanocatalysts, based on poly (propylene imine) dendrimers immobilized in silica pores and networks, obtained by co-hydrolysis in situ, have been synthesized and examined in the hydrogenation of various unsaturated compounds. The catalyst activity and selectivity were found to strongly depend on the carrier structure as well as on the substrate electron and geometric features. Thus, mesoporous catalyst, synthesized in presence of both polymeric template and tetraethoxysilane, revealed the maximum activity in the hydrogenation of various styrenes, including bulky and rigid stilbene and its isomers, reaching TOF values of about 230000 h-1. Other mesoporous catalyst, synthesized in the presence of polymeric template, but without addition of Si(OEt)4, provided the trans-cyclooctene formation with the selectivity of 90-95 %, appearing as similar to homogeneous dendrimer-based catalysts. Microporous catalyst, obtained only on the presence of Si(OEt)4, while dendrimer molecules acting as both anchored ligands and template, demonstrated the maximum activity in the hydrogenation of terminal linear alkynes and conjugated dienes, reaching TOF values up to 400000 h-1. Herein the total selectivity on alkene in the case of terminal alkynes and conjugated dienes reached 95-99 % even at hydrogen pressure of 30 atm. The catalysts synthesized can be easily isolated from reaction products and recycled without significant loss of activity.

Alkanethiolate-Capped Palladium Nanoparticles for Regio- and Stereoselective Hydrogenation of Allenes

Colloidal Pd nanoparticles capped with octanethiolate ligands have previously shown an excellent selectivity toward the mono-hydrogenation of both isolated and conjugated dienes to internal alkenes. This paper reports an efficient stereoselective mono-hydrogenation of cumulated dienes (allenes) to either Z or E olefinic isomers, depending on the substitution pattern around C=C bonds. Kinetic studies indicate that the reaction progresses through the hydrogenation of less hindered C=C bonds to produce internal Z olefinic isomers. In the cases of di-substitued olefinic products, this initial hydrogenation step is followed by the subsequent isomerization of Z to E isomers. In contrast, the slow isomerization of Z to E isomers for tri-substituted olefinic products results in the preservation of Z stereochemistry. The high selectivity of Pd nanoparticles averting an additional hydrogenation is steered from the controlled electronic and geometric properties of the Pd surface, which are the result of thiolate-induced partial poisoning and surface crowding, respectively. The high activity of colloidal Pd nanoparticle catalysts allows the reactions to be completed at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Core-shell Fe-SiO2-polyamine magnetic nanoparticles for metal recovery using a continuous flow pipeline reactor

A series of core-shell magnetic nanomaterials have been synthesized with the intent of applying them for metal ion capture in a newly designed pipeline reactor. The synthetic chemistry is an extension of a previously developed family of materials based on amorphous silica gel, which has been used in the mining and remediation industries. The nanoparticles were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and TEM and SEM techniques. The size of the starting magnetite core was critical to the behavior of the particles under metal sequestering conditions. The capture kinetics of the resulting nanoagregates is 10 times faster than related micro composites. All of the tests performed point to the future successful development of a technology that circumvents the disadvantages associated with the use of column based microparticles.

Flow synthesis of coumalic acid and its derivatization

Coumalic acid is a valuable platform compound which can be prepared from malic acid, a biorenewable feedstock derived from glucose. Two flow syntheses of coumalic acid and a new heated rotating reactor are presented.

Alkanethiolate-capped palladium nanoparticles for selective catalytic hydrogenation of dienes and trienes

Selective hydrogenation of dienes and trienes is an important process in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Our group previously reported that the thiosulfate protocol using a sodium S-alkylthiosulfate ligand could generate catalytically active Pd nanoparticles (PdNP) capped with a lower density of alkanethio-late ligands. This homogeneously soluble PdNP catalyst offers several advantages such as little contamination via Pd leaching and easy separation and recycling. In addition, the high activity of PdNP allows the reactions to be completed under mild conditions, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Herein, a PdNP catalyst capped with octanethiolate ligands (C8 PdNP) is investigated for the selective hydrogenation of conjugated dienes into monoenes. The strong influence of the thiolate ligands on the chemical and electronic properties of the Pd surface is confirmed by mechanistic studies and highly selective catalysis results. The studies also suggest two major routes for the conjugated diene hydrogenation: the 1,2-addition and 1,4-addition of hydrogen. The selectivity between two mono-hydrogenation products is controlled by the steric interaction of substrates and the thermodynamic stability of products. The catalytic hydrogenation of trienes also results in the almost quantitative formation of mono-hydrogenation products, the isolated dienes, from both ocimene and myrcene.

Mesoporous organo-inorganic hybrid materials as hydrogenation catalysts

The paper concerns application of two types of organic materials – porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) with diamond-like structure and the ordered mesoporous phenol-formaldehyde polymers (MPFs) – as supports for metal and metal sulfide nanoparticles. The obtained hybrid materials were tested in hydrogenation of various unsaturated and aromatic compounds. Ruthenium catalyst, based on PAF (Ru-PAF-30), possessed high activity in exhaustive hydrogenation of phenol into cyclohexanol with TOF value of 2700 h−1. Platinum catalyst, based on modified with sulfo-groups MPF (MPF-SO3H-Pt), was selective in semi-hydrogenation of terpenes, [α-terpinene, γ-terpinene, terpinolene, (s)-limonene]. Bimetallic Ni–W sulfide catalysts, prepared by in situ decomposition of [(n-Bu)4N]2Ni(WS4)2 within the pores of MPFs and PAFs, possessed high efficiency in hydrogenation-hydrocracking of naphthalenes as model substrates.

Molecular heterogeneous catalysts derived from bipyridine-based organosilica nanotubes for C-H bond activation

Heterogeneous metal complex catalysts for direct C-H activation with high activity and durability have always been desired for transforming raw materials into feedstock chemicals. This study described the design and synthesis of one-dimensional organosilica nanotubes containing 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) ligands in the framework (BPy-NT) and their post-synthetic metalation to provide highly active and robust molecular heterogeneous catalysts. By adjusting the ratios of organosilane precursors, very short BPy-NT with ∼50 nm length could be controllably obtained. The post-synthetic metalation of bipyridine-functionalized nanotubes with [IrCp*Cl(μ-Cl)]2 (Cp* = η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) and [Ir(cod)(OMe)]2 (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) afforded solid catalysts, IrCp*-BPy-NT and Ir(cod)-BPy-NT, which were utilized for C-H oxidation of heterocycles and cycloalkanes as well as C-H borylation of arenes. The cut-short nanotube catalysts displayed enhanced activities and durability as compared to the analogous homogeneous catalysts and other conventional heterogeneous catalysts, benefiting from the isolated active sites as well as the fast transport of substrates and products. After the reactions, a detailed characterization of Ir-immobilized BPy-NT via TEM, SEM, nitrogen adsorption, UV/vis, XPS, and 13C CP MAS NMR indicated the molecular nature of the active species as well as stable structures of nanotube scaffolds. This study demonstrates the potential of BPy-NT with a short length as an integration platform for the construction of efficient heterogeneous catalytic systems for organic transformations.

A protector-free one-pot strategy to synthesize highly dispersed Pd hydrogenation catalysts in a broad loading range on polystyrene

Pd nanocatalysts in desired size range (ca. 3.0–5.0 nm) and clean state (protector-free) were feasibly prepared in one-pot system by a surface electrostatic manipulation on polystyrene in broad loading (0.2–4.6 wt%).

Preparing magnetic multicomponent catalysts via a bio-inspired assembly for heterogeneous reactions

A facile synthetic approach for preparing magnetic porous catalysts, from various inorganic compounds loaded by a pyrogallic acid (PG) assisted layer-by-layer (LbL) coating.

A green synthesis of Pd nanoparticles supported on modified montmorillonite using aqueous Ocimum sanctum leaf extract: a sustainable catalyst for hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorophenol

A green synthesis of Pd nanoparticles on montmorillonite clay using Ocimum sanctum leaf extract and its application in hydrodechlorination of 4-chlorophenol in water.

Accessing stable zirconium carboxy-aminophosphonate nanosheets as support for highly active Pd nanoparticles

Thin nanosheets from a layered zirconium phosphate-carboxyphosphonate is reported here. Small Pd nanoparticles have been supported on these nanosheets by an efficient method. The resulting Pd-catalyst was fully characterized and tested in the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling. The catalytic system proved its efficiency as it was reused for several cycles and showed low Pd leaching.

Internal organization of macromonomers and dendronized polymers based on thiophene dendrons

The internal organization of macromonomers (MGs) consisting of all-thiophene dendrons of generation g = 2 and 3 attached to a phenyl core, as well as of the dendronized polymers resulting from polymerization of these macromonomers (PG2 and PG3, respectively), has been investigated using theoretical methods. The conformational preferences of the MGs, determined using density functional theory calculations, are characterized by the relative orientation between dendrons and core. We find that the strain of the MGs increases with the generation number and is alleviated by small conformational re-arrangements of the peripheral thiophene rings. The conformations obtained for the MGs have subsequently been used to construct models for the dendronized polymers. Classical molecular dynamics simulations have evidenced that the interpenetration of dendrons belonging to different repeat units is very small for PG2. In contrast, the degree of interpenetration is found to be very high for PG3, which also shows a significant degree of backfolding (i.e. occurrence of peripheral methyl groups approaching the backbone). Consequently, PG2 behaves as a conventional linear flexible polymer bearing bulk pendant groups, whereas PG3 is better characterized as a semirigid homogeneous cylinder. The two polymers are stabilized by π-π stacking interactions, even though these are significantly more abundant for PG3 than for PG2; the average numbers of interactions per repeat unit are 3.0 and 8.8 for PG2 and PG3, respectively. While in these interactions the thiophene rings can adopt either parallel (sandwich) or perpendicular (T-shaped) dispositions, the former scenario turns out to be the most abundant.

Facile preparation of an immobilized surfactant-free palladium nanocatalyst for metal hydride trapping: a novel sensing platform for TXRF analysis

In this work, a simple route for the synthesis of surfactant-free immobilized palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) and their use as effective nanocatalysts for metal hydride decomposition is described. A mixture of ethanol : water was used as the reducing agent. Ethanol was added in a large excess to reduce the ionic Pd and stabilize the obtained Pd NPs. Ethanol is adsorbed on the surface of Pd allowing steric stabilization. Freshly prepared Pd NPs were immobilized onto quartz substrates modified with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane. Pd interacts with the thiol group of the alkoxysilane that is adsorbed on the surface of NPs without the dissociation of the S-H bond. Different parameters affecting the synthesis of Pd NPs and their immobilization onto quartz substrates were evaluated. A comprehensive characterization of the synthesized Pd NPs was carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), whereas total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry was applied in order to evaluate their catalytic activity for solid-gas reactions. Immobilized Pd NPs were applied as nanocatalysts for the dissociative chemisorption of arsine at room temperature, yielding the formation of As-Pd bonds. Quartz substrates coated with nanosized Pd could be used as novel sensing platforms for total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis. Arsenic can be detected in situ in natural water with a limit of detection of 0.08 μg L(-1).

PdO nanoparticles enhancing the catalytic activity of Pd/carbon nanotubes for 4-nitrophenol reduction

In this work, Pd/PdO nanoparticles (NPs) supported on oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes are prepared by a one-pot gas–liquid interfacial plasma method. The presence of PdO NPs significantly enhances the performance of the catalyst in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol.