Dendrimer-encapsulated catalyst DEC

To demonstrate further the powerful utiHty of the fluorous/organic biphasic approach to catalyst recycling, a dendrimer-encapsulated catalyst (DEC) with covalently attached perfluorinated polyether chains was synthesized [17] and metallic nanoparticles were introduced into the interior. 

Allylic alcohols were hydrogenated using f to 3 nm diameter bimetallic Pd-Au dendrimer-encapsulated catalysts (DECs) [fi8]. Both alloy and core/shell Pd-Au nanoparticles were prepared. The catalytic hydrogenation of allyl alcohol was significantly enhanced in the presence of the alloy and core/shell Pd-Au nanoparticles as compared to mixtures of single-metal nanoparticles [fi8]. 

Dendrimer-encapstdated catalysts are another area of active research for polymer-supported catalysts. The nanoparticles are stabilized by the dendrimers preventing precipitation and a omeration. Bimetallic nanoparticles with encapsulated metals (dendrimer-encapsulated catalyst DEC) from commercially available fourth-generation PAMAM dendrimers and palladium and platinum metal salts were prepared via reduction by Crooks and co-workers [34], following previous work in this area [35], The simultaneous incorporation of Pt and Pd reflects the concentrations in solution. The bimetallic DECs are more active than the physical mixture of single-metal DEC [35, 36] in the case of the hydrogenahon of allyl alcohol in water, with a maximum TOP of 230 h compared to TOP = 190 h obtained for monometallic palladium nanoparticles (platinum TOP = 50 h ). 

Crooks group prepared monodisperse (1.7 0.2nm) palladium nanoparh-cles within the interiors of three different generations of hydroxyl-terminated PAMAM dendrimers [41]. This process involved encapsulation of the nonselec-tive catalyst (the Pd nanoparticle) within a selective nanoporous cage (the dendr-imer). These dendrimer-encapsulated palladium nanoparticles were used as catalysts to hydrogenate allyl alcohol and four R-substituted derivatives in a metha-nol/water mixture. The results showed that higher-generation dendrimer encapsulated catalysts (DECs) or larger substrates resulted in lower turnover frequencies. 

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