Carbohydrate-based nanostructured catalysts: applications in organic transformations

The requirement of green and sustainable materials to prepare heterogeneous catalysts has intensified for practical reasons over the past few decades. Carbohydrates are possibly the most plentiful and renewable organic materials in nature with inimitable physiochemical properties, plausible low-cost and large-scale production, and sustainability features could be exploited in the generation of nanostructured heterogeneous catalysts. This review article outlines the organic transformations catalyzed by diverse carbohydrate-based nanostructured catalysts in greener and environmentally friendly processes. Selected examples are highlighted for a variety of organic reactions exploiting the proposed catalysts’ reactivity and reusability, and interactions with the intrinsic nature of the applied carbohydrate supports; advantages and speculated challenges of the introduced catalysts are deliberated as well.     

Modulated large-pore mesoporous silica as an efficient base catalyst for the Henry reaction

In this study, mesoporous silica materials with tuned pores and surface areas were successfully synthesized by adjusting the amount of applied hexane and controlling the hydrothermal temperature. The synthesized silica materials were then functionalized by an amine group to produce solid base catalysts and be applicable as efficient heterogeneous base catalysts for the Henry reaction. The mesoporous silica catalysts possessing large-pores and surface area expose their active catalytic sites and thereby improve contacts with reactants fulfilling the reactions expeditiously in comparison with solid base catalysts possessing small-pores and surface area. The results indicated that the yield of the products is significantly dependent on the structure of the applied solid base catalysts. The modulated large-pore solid base catalysts presented high catalytic activity in Henry reactions and could be reused for five consecutive cycles.     

A General Strategy for Site‐Directed Enzyme Immobilization by Using NiO Nanoparticle Decorated Mesoporous Silica

Mesoporous materials have recently gained much attention owing to their large surface area, narrow pore size distribution, and superior pore structure. These materials have been demonstrated as excellent solid supports for immobilization of a variety of proteins and enzymes for their potential applications as biocatalysts in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. However, the lack of efficient and reproducible methods for immobilization has limited the activity and recyclability of these biocatalysts. Furthermore, the biocatalysts are usually not robust owing to their rapid denaturation in bulk solvents. To solve these problems, we designed a novel hybrid material system, mesoporous silica immobilized with NiO nanoparticles (SBA‐NiO), wherein enzyme immobilization is directed to specific sites on the pore surface of the material. This yielded the biocatalytic species with higher activity than free enzyme in solution. These biocatalytic species are recyclable with minimal loss of activity after several cycles, demonstrating an advantage over free enzymes.     

Facile synthesis of monodispersed Pd nanocatalysts decorated on graphene oxide for reduction of nitroaromatics in aqueous solution

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We synthesized the reproducible heterogeneous catalyst of graphene oxide (GO)-supported palladium nanoparticles (NPs) via a simple and green process. The...     

Applications of Non-precious Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticles in Electrochemistry

Non-precious transition metal oxide nanomaterials offer numerous opportunities for various cost-effective electrochemical applications. This review article features the design and advancement of such nanomaterials with unique features applied for the fabrication of electrochemical devices. Also, it discusses various new syntheses of transition metal oxide nanoparticles (TMO NPs) via multiple chemicophysical and biological procedures. Further, the novel appliances of the TMO NPs with varying sizes and morphologies are appraised. The advantages and challenges of a number of investigations on the TMO NPs towards electrochemical applications are addressed with their standpoint of cost-effectiveness, applicability, and the efficiency of the introduced nanostructures for the industrial applications.     

Polymer-supported N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium complex for heterogeneous Suzuki cross-coupling reaction

Poly(1-methylimidazoliummethyl styrene)-surface grafted-poly(styrene) resin was prepared for the first time as a polymer-supported N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursor for palladium complex by suspension polymerization. To prepare this polymer-supported NHC precursor, 1-methyl-3-(4-vinylbenzyl)imidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [MVBIM][PF6-], was synthesized as a monomer and copolymerized with styrene and DVB in water. This polymer-supported NHC precursor with imidazolium as a ligand, which exists solely on the surface of the resin, was well characterized by FE-SEM, CLSM, and IR spectroscopy. The precursor containing imidazolium readily formed a stable complex with Pd(OAc)2, and this polymer-supported N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium complex exhibited excellent catalytic activity for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction in an aqueous medium. The catalyst was recovered quantitatively from the reaction mixture by simple filtration and was able to be reused for a number of recycles with consistent activity in all of the coupling reactions.