Catalyst parameters determining activity and selectivity of supported gold nanoparticles for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols: the molecular reaction mechanism

As previously reported for for solventless reactions, gold nanoparticles supported on ceria are also excellent general heterogeneous catalysts for the aerobic oxidations of alcohols in organic solvents. Among organic solvents it was found that toluene is a convenient one. A systematic study on the influence of the particle size and gold content on the support has established that the activity correlates linearly with the total number of external gold atoms, and with the surface coverage of the support. Amongst catalysts with different supports, but similar gold particle size and content, gold on ceria exhibits the highest activity. By means of a kinetic study (influence of sigma+ parameter, kinetic isotopic effect, temperature, alcohol concentration and oxygen pressure) a mechanistic proposal consisting of the formation of metal-alcoholate, beta-hydride shift from carbon to metal and M--H oxidation has been proposed that explains all experimental results.     

SiO2负载Au-Pd双金属纳米颗粒催化甲醇选择性氧化合成甲酸甲酯

甲醇选择氧化制备甲酸甲酯（MF）是延伸甲醇产业链、开发高附加值下游产品的有效途径之一,负载型Au及Pd催化剂在这一反应中表现出优异的低温催化性能。为探索实用、高效和易再生的甲醇选择氧化催化剂,同时揭示双金属颗粒中Au和Pd的协同效应及甲醇氧化反应机理,本研究制备了一系列二氧化硅负载的Au-Pd催化剂（Au-Pd/SiO₂）,详细研究了其对甲醇选择氧化制甲酸甲酯的催化性能。结果表明,Au和Pd总负载量为0.6%、且Au/Pd质量比为2时,所制备的Au₂-Pd₁/SiO₂催化剂表现出优异的甲醇氧化催化性能;在130℃下,甲醇转化率达到57.0%,MF选择性为72.7%。多种表征结果显示,Au-Pd双金属纳米颗粒粒径为2-4 nm,高度分散于SiO₂载体表面,倾向于生成孪晶结构并暴露（111）晶面,这些因素是Au-Pd/SiO₂具有优异催化性能的主要原因。通过DRIFTS表征研究,提出了一个可能的MF生成机理：即甲醇首先与处于Au-Pd纳米粒子界面的表面氧作用,生成化学吸附的甲氧基;随后,甲氧基经去质子作用生成吸附的甲醛物种,后者与相邻的甲氧基物种亲核反应,并经β-H消除后得到目标产物MF。     

Controlling the duality of the mechanism in liquid-phase oxidation of benzyl alcohol catalysed by supported Au-Pd nanoparticles

In the solvent-free oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde using supported gold-palladium nanoparticles as catalysts, two pathways have been identified as the sources of the principal product, benzaldehyde. One is the direct catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde by O(2), whereas the second is the disproportionation of two molecules of benzyl alcohol to give equal amounts of benzaldehyde and toluene. Herein we report that by changing the metal oxide used to support the metal-nanoparticles catalyst from titania or niobium oxide to magnesium oxide or zinc oxide, it is possible to switch off the disproportionation reaction and thereby completely stop the toluene formation. It has been observed that the presence of O(2) increases the turnover number of this disproportionation reaction as compared to reactions in a helium atmosphere, implying that there are two catalytic pathways leading to toluene.     

Intrinsic catalytic structure of gold nanoparticles supported on TiO2

Despite the fragility of TiO(2) under electron irradiation, the intrinsic structure of Au/TiO(2) catalysts can be observed by environmental transmission electron microscopy. Under reaction conditions (CO/air 100?Pa), the major {111} and {100} facets of the gold nanoparticles are exposed and the particles display a polygonal interface with the TiO(2) support bounded by sharp edges parallel to the 〈110〉 directions.     

Small Pd nanoparticles supported in large pores of mesocellular foam: an excellent catalyst for racemization of amines

Highly dispersed palladium nanoparticles (1–2 nm) supported in large‐pore mesocellular foam (MCF; 29 nm) were synthesized. The Pd‐nanocatalyst/MCF system was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The performance of the Pd nanocatalyst obtained was examined for amine racemization. The Pd nanocatalyst showed higher activity and selectivity toward racemization of (S)‐1‐phenylethyl amine than any other amine racemization catalyst reported so far and it could be reused several times. Our data from TEM and XRD suggest a restructuring of the Pd nanocatalyst from amorphous to crystalline and an increase in Pd nanocatalyst size during the racemization reaction. This led to an unexpected increase of activity after the first use. The Pd nanocatalyst obtained can be integrated with other resolving processes of racemic organic compounds to increase the yield of chiral organic products.     

Novel palladium nanoparticles supported on mesoporous natural phosphate: Catalytic ability for the preparation of aromatic hydrocarbons from natural terpenes

Various ratios of palladium nanoparticles supported on mesoporous natural phosphate (Pd@NP) were prepared using the wetness impregnation method. The prepared catalysts were characterized by IR, XRD, CV, SEM, EDX, XRF, TEM and BET analysis. The reduction and preparation of the palladium nanoparticles afford a crystallite size of 10.88 nm. The performance of the synthesized catalyst was investigated in the solvent-free dehydroaromatization of α-, β- and γ-himachalene mixture from Cedrus atlantica oil as a model substrate. In order to achieve an efficient and selective catalysis, the catalytic dehydroaromatization of various terpenes such as limonene, limonaketone, carvone, carveol and perillyl alcohol was studied. The Pd@NP catalyst performed a high catalytic activity, selectivity and recyclability in the terpenes dehydroaromatization reaction.     

Palladium nanoparticles supported on mesoporous natural phosphate: An efficient recyclable catalyst for nitroarene reduction

We report the preparation of palladium nanoparticles supported on mesoporous natural phosphate (Pd@NP) using a wetness impregnation method. The prepared catalyst was characterized using various techniques. Furthermore, the reduction and preparation of the palladium nanoparticles was followed using UV–visible spectra. Based on the Scherrer equation, the crystallite size of the as‐synthesized palladium nanoparticles was 10.88 nm. The performance of the synthesized catalyst was investigated in the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol as a model substrate to 4‐aminophenol using NaBH₄ as a hydrogen source. Moreover, catalytic reduction of various nitroarenes was studied and monitored using UV–visible spectroscopy and gas chromatography. The Pd@NP catalyst showed a high activity for the selected reaction and could be recycled.     

Palladium and gold-palladium catalysts for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide

Today hydrogen peroxide is produced by an indirect process in which an alkyl anthraquinone is sequentially hydrogenated and oxidized. In this way hydrogen and oxygen are kept separate during the manufacturing process. A process where molecular oxygen is directly hydrogenated could be preferred if control of the sequential hydrogenation can be achieved, particularly if high rates can be attained under intrinsically safe, non-explosive conditions. Herein we describe recent progress in the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide using supported palladium and gold-palladium alloy catalysts and consider some of the problems that have to be overcome.     

Pd nanoparticles supported on amphiphilic porous organic polymer as an efficient catalyst for aqueous hydrodechlorination and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions

Developing efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalysts for organic reactions in water is important for the sustainable development of chemical industry. In this work, Pd nanoparticles supported on DABCO-functionalized porous organic polymer was successfully prepared through an easy copolymerization and successive immobilization method. Characterization results indicated that the prepared catalyst featured big surface area, hierarchical porous structure, and excellent surface amphiphilicity. We demonstrated the use of this amphiphilic catalyst in two case reactions, i.e. the aqueous hydrodechlorination and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. Under mild reaction conditions, the catalyst showed high catalytic activities for the two reactions. In addition, the catalyst could be easily recovered and reused for several times. Also, no obvious Pd leaching and aggregation of Pd nanoparticles occurred up during the consecutive reactions.