Enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate over diop modified Pt nanoclusters. Determination of geometry of the ligand adsorption mode via DRIFTS

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.

Synphos modified Pt nanoclusters, their heterogenization by silica sol-gel entrapment, and catalytic activity in hydrogenolysis of bicyclo[2.2.2]oct-7-enes and hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate

Platinum (Pt) colloids modified by the chiral ligand synphos were prepared with the goal of obtaining a catalytic nanomaterial and were subsequently embedded in silica to form a heterogeneous catalyst. The systems were characterized by (31)P-NMR, x-ray diffraction, molecular modeling and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs) measurements. These colloids, both as 'quasi-homogeneous catalysts' (or soluble heterogeneous catalysts) and embedded in silica (heterogeneous catalysts) were employed in the selective hydrogenolysis of highly sterically constrained bicyclo[2.2.2]oct-7-enes and hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate.

A new and specific mode of stabilization of metallic nanoparticles

We report in this paper the stabilization of ruthenium nanoparticles using a very simple ligand (4-(3-phenylpropyl)pyridine), through strong pi-coordination of the phenyl moiety.