Prefunctionalized Porous Organic Polymers: Effective Supports of Surface Palladium Nanoparticles for the Enhancement of Catalytic Performances in Dehalogenation

Three porous organic polymers (POPs) containing H, COOMe, and COO^? groups at 2,6‐bis(1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)pyridyl (BTP) units (i.e., POP‐1, POP‐2, and POP‐3, respectively) were prepared for the immobilization of metal nanoparticles (NPs). The ultrafine palladium NPs are uniformly encapsulated in the interior pores of POP‐1, whereas uniform‐ and dual‐distributed palladium NPs are located on the external surface of POP‐2 and POP‐3, respectively. The presence of carboxylate groups not only endows POP‐3 an outstanding dispersibility in H₂O/EtOH, but also enables the palladium NPs at the surface to show the highest catalytic activity, stability, and recyclability in dehalogenation reactions of chlorobenzene at 25 °C. The palladium NPs on the external surface are effectively stabilized by the functionalized POPs containing BTP units and carboxylate groups, which provides a new insight for highly efficient catalytic systems based on surface metal NPs of porous materials.     

The Site‐Assembly Determines Catalytic Activity of Nanoparticles

Heterogeneous catalysts are often designed as metal nanoparticles supported on oxide surfaces. Here, the relation between particle morphology and reaction kinetics is investigated by scaling relation kinetic Monte Carlo simulations using CO oxidation over Pt nanoparticles as a model reaction. We find that different particle morphologies result in vastly different catalytic activities. The activity is strongly affected by kinetic couplings between sites, and a wide site distribution generally enhances the activity. The present study highlights the role of site‐assemblies as a concept that, in addition to isolated active sites, can be used to understand catalytic reactions over nanoparticles.     

Hollow Carbon Sphere Nanoreactors Loaded with PdCu Nanoparticles: Void-Confinement Effects in Liquid-Phase Hydrogenations

Nanoreactors with hollow structures have attracted great interest in catalysis research due to their void-confinement effects. However, the challenge in unambiguously unraveling these confinement effects is to decouple them from other factors affecting catalysis. Here, we synthesize a pair of hollow carbon sphere (HCS) nanoreactors with presynthesized PdCu nanoparticles encapsulated inside of HCS (PdCu@HCS) and supported outside of HCS (PdCu/HCS), respectively, while keeping other structural features the same. Based on the two comparative nanoreactors, void-confinement effects in liquid-phase hydrogenation are investigated in a two-chamber reactor. It is found that hydrogenations over PdCu@HCS are shape-selective catalysis, can be accelerated (accumulation of reactants), decelerated (mass transfer limitation), and even inhibited (molecular-sieving effect); conversion of the intermediate in the void space can be further promoted. Using this principle, a specific imine is selectively produced. This work provides a proof of concept for fundamental catalytic action of the hollow nanoreactors.     

Discovery of Highly Selective Alkyne Semihydrogenation Catalysts Based on First‐Row Transition‐Metallated Porous Organic Polymers

Five different first‐row transition metal precursors (V^III, Cr^III, Mn^II, Co^II, Ni^II) were successfully incorporated into a catechol porous organic polymer (POP) and characterized using ATR‐IR and XAS analysis. The resulting metallated POPs were then evaluated for catalytic alkyne hydrogenation using high‐throughput screening techniques. All POPs were unexpectedly found to be active and selective catalysts for alkyne semihydrogenation. Three of the metallated POPs (V, Cr, Mn) are the first of their kind to be active single‐site hydrogenation catalysts. These results highlight the advantages of using a POP platform to develop new catalysts which are otherwise difficult to achieve through traditional heterogeneous and homogeneous routes.     

Catalytic Water Oxidation by Ruthenium(II) Quaterpyridine (qpy) Complexes: Evidence for Ruthenium(III) qpy‐N,N′′′‐dioxide as the Real Catalysts

Polypyridyl and related ligands have been widely used for the development of water oxidation catalysts. Supposedly these ligands are oxidation‐resistant and can stabilize high‐oxidation‐state intermediates. In this work a series of ruthenium(II) complexes [Ru(qpy)(L)₂]²⁺ (qpy=2,2′:6′,2′′:6′′,2′′′‐quaterpyridine; L=substituted pyridine) have been synthesized and found to catalyze Ce^IV‐driven water oxidation, with turnover numbers of up to 2100. However, these ruthenium complexes are found to function only as precatalysts; first, they have to be oxidized to the qpy‐N,N′′′‐dioxide (ONNO) complexes [Ru(ONNO)(L)₂]³⁺ which are the real catalysts for water oxidation.     

Steric and Electronic Effects of Bidentate Phosphine Ligands on Ruthenium(II)‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide

The reactivity difference between the hydrogenation of CO₂ catalyzed by various ruthenium bidentate phosphine complexes was explored by DFT. In addition to the ligand dmpe (Me₂PCH₂CH₂PMe₂), which was studied experimentally previously, a more bulky diphosphine ligand, dmpp (Me₂PCH₂CH₂CH₂PMe₂), together with a more electron‐withdrawing diphosphine ligand, PN^MeP (Me₂PCH₂N^MeCH₂PMe₂), have been studied theoretically to analyze the steric and electronic effects on these catalyzed reactions. Results show that all of the most favorable pathways for the hydrogenation of CO₂ catalyzed by bidentate phosphine ruthenium dihydride complexes undergo three major steps: cis–trans isomerization of ruthenium dihydride complex, CO₂ insertion into the Ru?H bond, and H₂ insertion into the ruthenium formate ion. Of these steps, CO₂ insertion into the Ru?H bond has the lowest barrier compared with the other two steps in each preferred pathway. For the hydrogenation of CO₂ catalyzed by ruthenium complexes of dmpe and dmpp, cis–trans isomerization of ruthenium dihydride complex has a similar barrier to that of H₂ insertion into the ruthenium formate ion. However, in the reaction catalyzed by the PN^MePRu complex, cis–trans isomerization of the ruthenium dihydride complex has a lower barrier than H₂ insertion into the ruthenium formate ion. These results suggest that the steric effect caused by the change of the outer sphere of the diphosphine ligand on the reaction is not clear, although the electronic effect is significant to cis–trans isomerization and H₂ insertion. This finding refreshes understanding of the mechanism and provides necessary insights for ligand design in transition‐metal‐catalyzed CO₂ transformation.     

Hydrogenation of CO2 to Formic Acid with a Highly Active Ruthenium Acriphos Complex in DMSO and DMSO/Water

The novel [Ru(Acriphos)(PPh₃)(Cl)(PhCO₂)] [ 1 ; Acriphos=4,5‐bis(diphenylphosphino)acridine] is an excellent precatalyst for the hydrogenation of CO₂ to give formic acid in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and DMSO/H₂O without the need for amine bases as co‐reagents. Turnover numbers (TONs) of up to 4200 and turnover frequencies (TOFs) of up to 260 h^?1 were achieved, thus rendering 1 one of the most active catalysts for CO₂ hydrogenations under additive‐free conditions reported to date. The thermodynamic stabilization of the reaction product by the reaction medium, through hydrogen bonds between formic acid and clusters of solvent or water, were rationalized by DFT calculations. The relatively low final concentration of formic acid obtained experimentally under catalytic conditions (0.33 mol L^?1) was shown to be limited by product‐dependent catalyst inhibition rather than thermodynamic limits, and could be overcome by addition of small amounts of acetate buffer, thus leading to a maximum concentration of free formic acid of 1.27 mol L^?1, which corresponds to optimized values of TON=16×10³ and TOF_avg≈10³ h^?1.     

A Porous Organic Poly(triphenylimidazole) Decorated with Palladium Nanoparticles for the Cyanation of Aryl Iodides

A new porous organic poly(triphenylimidazole), PTPI‐Me, was prepared through a Yamamoto self‐coupling reaction of 2,4,5‐tris‐(4‐bromophenyl)‐1‐methyl‐1H‐imidazole (TPI‐Me) in the presence of bis(1,5‐cyclooctadiene)nickel(0). The polymer was subsequently decorated with Pd nanoparticles (NPs) to afford a heterogeneous cyanation catalyst, Pd@PTPI‐Me. Pd NPs with an average diameter of 2.7 nm were grown within the PTPI‐Me framework, owing to the coordination of the imidazole rings to the Pd species. The resultant Pd@PTPI‐Me catalyst, with a Pd loading of 0.13 mmol g^?1, exhibited superior catalytic activity for the cyanation of aryl iodides. More importantly, the heterogeneous catalyst was also readily recycled and displayed negligible deactivation after five cycles.     

Unexpected Direct Hydride Transfer Mechanism for the Hydrogenation of Ethyl Acetate to Ethanol Catalyzed by SNS Pincer Ruthenium Complexes

The hydrogenation of ethyl acetate to ethanol catalyzed by SNS pincer ruthenium complexes was computationally investigated by using DFT. Different from a previously proposed mechanism with fac‐[(SNS)Ru(PPh₃)(H)₂] ( 5′ ) as the catalyst, an unexpected direct hydride transfer mechanism with a mer‐SNS ruthenium complex as the catalyst, and two cascade catalytic cycles for hydrogenations of ethyl acetate to aldehyde and aldehyde to ethanol, is proposed base on our calculations. The new mechanism features ethanol‐assisted proton transfer for H₂ cleavage, direct hydride transfer from ruthenium to the carbonyl carbon, and C?OEt bond cleavage. Calculation results indicate that the rate‐determining step in the whole catalytic reaction is the transfer of a hydride from ruthenium to the carbonyl carbon of ethyl acetate, with a total free energy barrier of only 26.9 kcal mol^?1, which is consistent with experimental observations and significantly lower than the relative free energy of an intermediate in a previously postulated mechanism with 5′ as the catalyst.     

Frustrated Lewis Pairs in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Theoretical Insights

Frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) catalysts have attracted much recent interest because of their exceptional ability to activate small molecules in homogeneous catalysis. In the past ten years, this unique catalysis concept has been extended to heterogeneous catalysis, with much success. Herein, we review the recent theoretical advances in understanding FLP-based heterogeneous catalysis in several applications, including metal oxides, functionalized surfaces, and two-dimensional materials. A better understanding of the details of the catalytic mechanism can help in the experimental design of novel heterogeneous FLP catalysts.     

有机多孔催化研究进展

有机多孔材料POPs (Porous Organic Polymers)成为近年来的研究前沿之一. 有机多孔材料包括非晶型(如CMP, HCP, PIM等)和晶型(比如COFs等)有机多孔材料两类, 它们具有优异的孔性质、较大的比表面积、稳定性好、重量轻以及易于功能化等诸多优点, 被广泛应用于气体存储分离、传感、有机光电和多相催化等重要领域. 这里对有机多孔材料在多相催化领域中的应用做一综述. 目前, 有机多孔催化领域的研究工作主要有三类: 一类是通过“自下而上”策略将金属-配体类催化剂嵌入有机多孔骨架来构建多相催化剂; 另一类是将有机多孔材料作为载体, 通过后修饰方式负载金属纳米颗粒构建多相催化剂; 最后一类是通过“自下而上”策略将不含金属的有机小分子催化剂嵌入材料骨架来构建多孔有机催化剂. 受益于其结构的优越性, 有机多孔材料在多相催化中表现出优异的催化性能. 借鉴于均相催化的发展, 具有催化活性的有机多孔材料在多相催化领域中的应用也将会有更大的发展空间.