Heterogeneous gold catalysts for efficient access to functionalized lactones

A novel class of heterogeneous gold catalysts supported on zeolite beta-NH4+ was prepared by the deposition-precipitation method. This new class of catalyst showed interesting catalytic activities for the intramolecular cycloisomerization of gamma-acetylenic carboxylic acids leading to functionalized gamma-alkylidene gamma-butyrolactones. Analysis of the supported gold species with in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (in situ XPS) suggests that cationic Au (possibly AuIII) can play an important role in such reactions. The high discrepancy in catalyst stability in favor of the Au supported on the zeolite system over bulk Au2O3 is explained by 1) the size of the particles and 2) the reversibility of the redox deactivating process (AuIII-->AuI) in the presence of oxygen for the supported system. The efficiency of this system allowed reaction under mild heterogeneous conditions. The potential for catalyst recycling was also highlighted.     

Catalytic Synthesis of Ammonia—A “Never‐Ending Story”?

Nitrogen atoms are essential for the function of biological molecules and thus are and important component of fertilizers and medicaments. Bonds to nitrogen also find nonbiological uses in dyes, explosives, and resins. The synthesis of all these materials requires ammonia as an activated nitrogen building block. This situation is true for natural processes and the chemical industry. Knowledge of the various techniques for the preparation of ammonia is thus of fundamental importance for chemistry. The Haber-Bosch synthesis was the first heterogeneous catalytic system employed in the chemical industry and is still in use today. Understanding the mechanism and the translation of the knowledge into technical perfection has become a fundamental criterion for scientific development in catalysis research.     

Manganese oxide promoted liquid-phase aerobic oxidative amidation of methylarenes to monoamides using ammonia surrogates

In the presence of amorphous MnO(2), various methylarenes (even with two or more methyl groups) could be selectively converted into the corresponding primary monoamides in moderate to high yields. The observed catalysis was truly heterogeneous, and the retrieved amorphous MnO(2) catalyst could be reused without an appreciable loss of its catalytic performance.     

Industrial Applications of Gold Catalysis

Gold catalysis has recently found its first large‐scale applications in the chemical industry. This Minireview provides a critical analysis of the success factors and of the main obstacles that had to be overcome on the long way from the discovery to the commercialization of gold catalysts. The insights should be useful to researchers in both academia and industry working on the development of tomorrow's gold catalysts to tackle significant environmental and economic issues.     

Hydrotalcite-supported gold catalyst for the oxidant-free dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol: studies on support and gold size effects

Gold nanoparticles with uniform mean sizes (≈3 nm) loaded onto various supports have been prepared and studied for the oxidant-free dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde and hydrogen. The use of hydrotalcite (HT), which possesses both strong acidity and strong basicity, provides the best catalytic performance. Au/HT catalysts with various mean Au particle sizes (2.1-21 nm) have been successfully prepared by a deposition-precipitation method under controlled conditions. Detailed catalytic reaction studies with these catalysts demonstrate that the Au-catalyzed dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol is a structure-sensitive reaction. The turnover frequency (TOF) increases with decreasing Au mean particle size (from 12 to 2.1 nm). A steep rise in TOF occurs when the mean Au particle size becomes smaller than 4 nm. Our present work suggests that the acid-base properties of the support and the size of Au nanoparticles are two key factors controlling the alcohol dehydrogenation catalysis. A reaction mechanism is proposed to rationalize these results. It is assumed that the activation of the β-C-H bond of alcohol, which requires the coordinatively unsaturated Au atoms, is the rate-determining step.     

A quantitative, real-time assessment of binding of peptides and proteins to gold surfaces

Interactions of peptides and proteins with inorganic surfaces are important to both natural and artificial systems; however, a detailed understanding of such interactions is lacking. In this study, we applied new approaches to quantitatively measure the binding of amino acids and proteins to gold surfaces. Real‐time surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements showed that TEM1‐β‐lactamase inhibitor protein (BLIP) interacts only weakly with Au nanoparticles (NPs). However, fusion of three histidine residues to BLIP (3H‐BLIP) resulted in a significant increase in the binding to the Au NPs, which further increased when the histidine tail was extended to six histidines (6H‐BLIP). Further increasing the number of His residues had no effect on the binding. A parallel study using continuous (111)‐textured Au surfaces and single‐crystalline, (111)‐oriented, Au islands by ellipsometry, FTIR, and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy further confirmed the results, validating the broad applicability of Au NPs as model surfaces. Evaluating the binding of all other natural amino acid homotripeptides fused to BLIP (except Cys and Pro) showed that aromatic and positively‐charged residues bind preferentially to Au with respect to small aliphatic and negatively charged residues, and that the rate of association is related to the potency of binding. The binding of all fusions was irreversible. These findings were substantiated by SPR measurements of synthesized, free, soluble tripeptides using Au‐NP‐modified SPR chips. Here, however, the binding was reversible allowing for determination of binding affinities that correlate with the binding potencies of the related BLIP fusions. Competition assays performed between 3H‐BLIP and the histidine tripeptide (3 His) suggest that Au binding residues promote the adsorption of proteins on the surface, and by this facilitate the irreversible interaction of the polypeptide chain with Au. The binding of amino acids to Au was simulated by using a continuum solvent model, showing agreement with the experimental values. These results, together with the observed binding potencies and kinetics of the BLIP fusions and free peptides, suggest a binding mechanism that is markedly different from biological protein–protein interactions.     

Regio- and enantioselective hydroamination of dienes by gold(i)/menthol cooperative catalysis

Alcohol is key: Regio- and enantioselective hydroamination of 1,3-dienes has been achieved with the dinuclear catalyst (R)-DTBM-SEGPHOS. The rate and selectivity of the reaction are enhanced by alcohol additives like menthol, which coordinates the cationic gold(I) to generate a Br?nsted acid that can participate in catalysis. Mbs=p-methoxybenzenesulfonyl.     

Increasing the number of oxygen vacancies on TiO2 by doping with iron increases the activity of supported gold for CO oxidation

The addition of iron to high-area TiO2 (Degussa P25, a mixture of anatase and rutile) increases the number of oxygen defect sites that react with O2 to form peroxide and superoxide species. In the presence of gold nanoclusters on the TiO2 surface, the superoxide species become highly reactive, and the activity of the supported gold catalyst for CO oxidation is approximately twice that of the most active comparable catalysts described in the literature. Images of the catalyst obtained by scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with spectra of the catalyst measured in the working state (Raman, extended X-ray absorption fine structure, and X-ray absorption near-edge structure) indicate strong interactions of gold with the support and the presence of iron near the interfaces between the gold clusters and the TiO2 support. The high activity of the catalysts is attributed to the presence of defects in these sites that activate oxygen.