Is a Catalyst Always Needed? The Case of the Knoevenagel Reaction with Malononitrile

The aim of this Perspective is to start a discussion about the real usefulness of more or less sophisticated catalytic systems for the Knoevenagel reaction with malononitrile, a reaction that can take place under mild conditions without the need of a catalyst. From a sustainable viewpoint the questions are: Is it useful to increase the rate of a reaction that already occurs under mild conditions? Is it useful to spend resources and time in designing, characterizing and realizing complex catalytic systems for such reaction? Does it make sense to carry out the reaction under conditions such as to have a slower reaction rate and therefore to find a catalyst that is able to increase it?

SBA-15/POSS-Imidazolium Hybrid as Catalytic Nanoreactor

Supported imidazolium modified polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) on SBA-15 have been used as platform for Pd(II) species. The so-obtained material was firstly characterized by means of TGA, solid state NMR, TEM, XPS, SAXS, porosimetry and ICP-OES and it was successfully tested as pre-catalyst in C−C cross couplings, namely Suzuki-Miyaura and Heck reactions. In both cases, the solid proved to be highly efficient and easily recoverable from the reaction mixture. The recyclability was verified for up to seven cycles without showing any activity decrease. Interestingly, only Pd(II) was detected in the reused catalyst in the Heck reaction. Therefore, the versatility of the material w…

Design of PNIPAAM covalently grafted on halloysite nanotubes as a support for metal-based catalysts

A thermo-responsive polymer such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM) was covalently grafted on the external surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) by means of microwave irradiation. This nanomaterial was used as a support and stabilizer for palladium nanoparticles. The obtained HNT–PNIPAAM/PdNPs was characterized by means of TGA, SEM, EDS and TEM analyses. The palladium content of the catalyst was estimated to be 0.4 wt%. The stability of the catalytic material at different temperatures (below and above the PNIPAAM lower critical solution temperature) was tested in the Suzuki reaction under microwave irradiation. In addition, TEM analysis after five consecutive runs was performed. The …

Modified Nanocarbons for Catalysis

Nanocarbons represent useful scaffolds in the preparation of last generation nanostructured catalysts, and their chemical functionalization through covalent or non-covalent modification is becoming an important tool for introducing well-distributed anchoring points and, in the meantime, could be the first step toward the assembling of hybrid nanostructured materials with a hierarchical order. In this Review are reported synthesis and catalytic applications of chemically modified nanocarbons such as fullerene, carbon nanotubes, graphene, nanohorns and nanodiamonds in organocatalytic and metal-based (metal nanoparticles, organometallic complexes) reactions, covering major chemical reactions e…

Supported Poly(Ionic Liquid)-Heteropolyacid Based Materials for Heterogeneous Catalytic Fructose Dehydration in Aqueous Medium

Two sets of four different supported catalyst materials were prepared. One set was obtained by polymerization of a bis-vinylimidazolium salt, which formed a poly(ionic liquid) coating on SiO2, TiO2, boron nitride BN, and carbon nitride C3N4. The other set was, instead, obtained by immobilizing Keggin heteropolyacid H3PW12O40 onto poly-imidazolium functionalized materials. All the catalysts, including the bare supports, were subjected to physical and chemical characterization by XRD, SEM, Specific Surface Area and pore size measurements, TGA, FTIR, and acidity-basicity measurements. The catalytic activity of the materials was tested versus the fructose dehydration in water solution at two di…

A study on the stability of carbon nanoforms–polyimidazolium network hybrids in the conversion of co2 into cyclic carbonates

Three different carbon nanoforms (CNFs), single-walled and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, MWCNTs) and carbon nanohorns (CNHs), have been used as supports for the direct polymerization of variable amounts of a bis-vinylimidazolium salt. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that all CNFs act as templates on the growth of the polymeric network, which perfectly covers the nanocarbons forming a cylindrical (SWCNTs, MWCNTs) or spherical (CNHs) coating. The stability of these hybrid materials was investigated in the conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonate under high temperature and CO2 pressure. Compared with the homopolymerized monomer, nanotube-based materials display an improved c…

Nuovi ibridi [60]fullerene-liquido ionico

Cross-Linked Polyamine from Imidazolium-Based Materials: A Simple Route to Useful Catalytic Materials

Cross-linked polyamine-based materials were easily prepared by reduction of the corresponding cross-linked imidazolium-based materials with sodium borohydride in hot ethanol. Overall, the synthetic procedure is based on the polymerization of a suitable bis-vinylimidazolium salt with or without a suitable support, such as silica or silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3@SiO2), followed by reduction. This simple approach allows the synthesis of materials based on a network of secondary and tertiary amines. Materials were characterized by13C cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR (13C CPMAS NMR), proton spin-lattice relaxation times in the rotating frame (T1ρH) and thermogravimet…

Correction: Supported C60-IL-PdNPs as extremely active nanocatalysts for C–C cross-coupling reactions

Correction for ‘Supported C60-IL-PdNPs as extremely active nanocatalysts for C–C cross-coupling reactions’ by Francesco Giacalone et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 17193–17206.

Sistemi TEMPO-C60 come Catalizzatori Riciclabili Attivi nell’Ossidazione di Alcoli

Modified nanocarbons as catalysts in organic processes

The application of nanocarbons as useful scaffolds for the production of a wide range of catalytic systems is an ever-growing field as witnessed by the huge amount of research on this topic. Both covalent and non-covalent modifications of nanocarbons represent the main routes to gain access to hybrid nanostructured catalysts. In this chapter the attention will be focused on nanocarbons, namely, fullerene, nanotubes, and graphene, employed for catalytic purposes covering both organocatalytic and metal-based (metal nanoparticles, organometallic complexes) reactions, whereas simple physical mixtures of nanocarbons and metal nanoparticles as well as examples dealing with electrocatalysis or pho…

Materiali catalitici a base di nanoparticelle di palladio immobilizzate su nanoforme di carbonio

Organocatalytic Alcohol Oxidation Catalyzed by Recyclable TEMPO-functionalized [60]fullerene

Front Cover Picture: SBA‐15/POSS‐Imidazolium Hybrid as Catalytic Nanoreactor: the role of the Support in the Stabilization of Palladium Species for C−C Cross Coupling Reactions. (Adv. Synth. Catal. 16/2019)

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube–Polyamidoamine Dendrimer Hybrids for Heterogeneous Catalysis

We report the synthesis and catalytic properties of single-walled carbon nanotube-polyamidoamine dendrimers hybrids (SWCNT-PAMAM), prepared via a convergent strategy. The direct reaction of cystamine-based PAMAM dendrimers (generations 2.5 and 3.0) with pristine SWCNTs in refluxing toluene, followed by immobilization and reduction of [PdCl4](2-), led to the formation of highly dispersed small palladium nanoparticles homogeneously confined throughout the nanotube length. One of these functional materials proved to be an efficient catalyst in Suzuki and Heck reactions, able to promote the above processes down to 0.002 mol % showing a turnover number (TON) of 48 000 and a turnover frequency (T…

Fullerene as a Platform for Recyclable TEMPO Organocatalysts for the Oxidation of Alcohols

[60]Fullerene has been employed successfully as a molecular platform to anchor 12 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) moieties. Such an octahedrally substituted C60-derivative has been employed as an organocatalyst for the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols using the Anelli protocol. The reaction showed a general applicability to various alcohols, and the catalyst was recovered easily and could be recycled for at least seven cycles with no loss in catalytic activity. EPR spectroscopy studies revealed that the amount of radicals decreases during the catalytic cycles, even if the recovered material still displays unchanged catalytic activity. This new approach paves the way …

Improved performance in flexible organic solar cells by using copolymeric phase-separation modulators

One of the main problems related to the low performance of the organic solar cells (OSCs), concerns the low mobility of the materials constituting the heterojunction. Indeed, the poor charge transport in the active layer is the principal cause of a competition between separation and recombination of the photogenerated carriers. In this regard, a major obstacle to enhance OSCs efficiency is developing strategies to optimize the exciton dissociation and, consequently, the charge collection at the electrodes. Donor and acceptor systems must be well mixed on the length scale of 5 – 20 nm (exciton diffusion length) to meet the criteria for efficient exciton dissociation. In addition, the network…

Catechol-Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes as Support for Pd Nanoparticles

Carbon nanotubes have been covalently functionalized with catechol moieties through the formation of the corresponding aryl radicals obtained by reacting 4-aminocatechol with isoamyl nitrite. The functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been in turn used to immobilize Pd(II) ions on its surface forming catechol-Pd complexes, which were reduced to Pd nanoparticles (NPs). The so-obtained hybrid material has been characterized by means of thermogravimetric analysis coupled with differential scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This latter technique allowed to estimate the nanoparticle size (5.7 +/- 2.8 nm) wh…

Polystyrene-supported organocatalysts for alfa-selenenylation and Michael reactions. A common post-modification approach for catalytic differentiation

Three different resin-supported catalysts have been prepared by using the well established post-modification approach by means of thiol-ene coupling reaction. Two catalysts were tested for the first time in the asymmetric α-selenenylation of propanal, while the third catalyst was used in the Michael addition reaction. While the preliminary results are not encouraging in the case of supported Jørgensen’ catalyst, interesting data have been collected with both for the supported MacMillan and prolyl-prolinol catalysts. In fact, these catalysts displayed good activity and selectivity. A reversed enantioselectivity in the α-selenenylation was observed by changing the polarity of the solvent. Fin…

Catalytic Synergism in a C60IL10TEMPO2 Hybrid in the Efficient Oxidation of Alcohols

A novel fullerene (5:1)hexakisadduct bearing two 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO) radicals and ten 1-propyl-3-methylimida- zolium bromide moieties has been synthesized and characterized. Such an C60IL10TEMPO2 hybrid has been successfully employed as a catalyst in the se- lective oxidation of a wide series of alcohols and is highly active at just 0.1 mol% loading. Moreover, it can be easily recovered by adsorption onto a multi- layered covalently-linked SILP phase (mlc-SILP) through a "release and catch" approach and reused for up to 12 cycles without loss in efficiency. Inter- estingly, a catalytic synergistic effect of TEMPO and imidazolium bromide moieties combined in the same…

Templating effect of carbon nanoforms on highly cross-linked imidazolium network: Catalytic activity of the resulting hybrids with Pd nanoparticles

Two different carbon nanoforms (CNFs), namely multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and carbon nanohorns (CNHs), have been chosen as support for the direct polymerization of a bis-vinylimidazolium salt. Transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed a templating effect of the CNFs on the growth of the polymeric network, which perfectly covers their whole surfaces creating a cylindrical or spherical coating for MWCNTs and CNHs, respectively. Subsequently, the CNFs-polyimidazolium have been used as stabilizers for Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs), and the obtained materials have been characterized by means of analytical and spectroscopic techniques and then employed as easily recoverable and re…

Piezoresistive semi-transparent flexible sensors by bithiophene fulleropyrrolidine thin films

Piezoresistive sensors are considered among the fundamental components of the future wearable electronic devices, given their potential applications in artificial skin, motion capture and personalized medicine.[1-5] Here, we present a cost-effective, viable fabrication approach to realize piezoresistive sensors using a novel polymeric biotiophene fulleropyrrolidine system (bis-C60Bi) synthesized on flexible ITO/PET supports by electrochemical chronoamperometry. By applying an anodic potential (1.5 V) to a solution containing the monomer, it is possible to obtain a homogeneous semi-transparent thin film on the ITO/PET surface (see Figure). AFM, XPS, UV-vis have been employed to characterize …

Supported C60-IL-PdNPs as extremely active nanocatalysts for C-C cross-coupling reactions

A C60-ionic liquid hybrid has been covalently linked to three different solid supports, namely amorphous silica, SBA-15 and Fe2O3@SiO2, and the resulting materials have been employed as covalently supported ionic liquid phases (cSILP) in order to immobilize and stabilize palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs). These novel hybrid materials are based on a sort of "matryoshka" system (PdNPs@imidazolium-salt@C60@support) in which the imidazolium-based moieties have not been directly linked to the surface of the support, but they are present in an octopus-like spatial arrangement on the uniformly surface-distributed fullerenes. These materials have been fully characterized and successfully employed as …

Piezoresistive Sensors from Bithiophene-fulleropyrrolidine Bisadducts Thin-Films

The phenomenon of piezoresistivity in materials is based on the separation of conductive domains triggered by mechanical strains, resulting in a variation of the electrical resistance.1 This property is at the core of sensors for wearable electronics, e-skins, human motion detectors and machine learning devices.2 Fundamental requirements include lightness, good transparency, high flexibility and sensitivity to tiny deformations. However, the fabrication of a system integrating all these features is challenging. Herein, we show a semitransparent piezoresistive sensor realized by an electropolymerized bithiophene‐fulleropyrrolidine bisadduct onto ITO/PET3 (see Figure 1a). The good outcome of …

Efficient Conversion of Carbon Dioxide by Imidazolium-Based Cross-Linked Nanostructures Containing Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) Building Blocks

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) have been employed as molecular building blocks for the synthesis of imidazolium cross-linked networks, to be used as heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide into cyclic carbonates. Two hybrid materials with different nucleophilic species (bromide and iodide) have been prepared and characterized by means of elemental analysis, 13C and 29Si solid-state NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and IR spectroscopy. The solids were tested as the sole catalyst under metal- and solvent-free reaction conditions showing full selectivity toward the formation of cyclic carbonates. High turnover number (TON) and productivity values,…

Sintesi efficiente mediata da microonde di derivati di fullerene per dispositivi fotovoltaici organici

Carbon nanotube supported aluminum porphyrin-imidazolium bromide crosslinked copolymer

The increased awareness of the catastrophic consequences caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has generated a large mobilization aimed at CO2 mitigation. Herein, in the spirit of the transformation of a waste as CO2 into value added products, we propose an efficient preparation of two different hybrid systems based on aluminum chloride tetrastyrylporphyrin (TSP-Al-Cl) and 1,4-butanediyl-3,3′-bis-1-vinylimidazolium dibromide copolymerized in the presence (MWCNT-TSP-AlCl-imi) and in absence (TSP-AlCl-imi) of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the CO2 utilization in the synthesis of cyclic carbonates. The so-prepared materials have been thoroughly characte…

Supported Fullerene C60-Ionic Liquid Hybryds as New Catalytic Materials

Polystyrene-supported organocatalysts for α-selenenylation and Michael reactions

Abstract Three different resin-supported catalysts have been prepared by using the well established post-modification approach by means of thiol-ene coupling reaction. Two catalysts were tested for the first time in the asymmetric α-selenenylation of propanal, while the third catalyst was used in the Michael addition reaction. While the preliminary results are not encouraging in the case of supported Jorgensen’ catalyst, interesting data have been collected with both for the supported MacMillan and prolyl-prolinol catalysts. In fact, these catalysts displayed good activity and selectivity. A reversed enantioselectivity in the α-selenenylation was observed by changing the polarity of the sol…

A Simple Procedure for Oxidation of Alcohols using [Bis(acetoxy)iodo]benzene and a Catalytic Amount of Bromide Ions in Ethyl Acetate

Primary and secondary benzylic alcohols and secondary aliphatic alcohols were oxidized to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones by using [bis(acetoxy)iodo]benzene (BAIB) and a catalytic amount of bromide ions, from tetrabutylammonium bromide or KBr, in ethyl acetate. The catalytic role of the bromide ions was also highlighted in the oxidation of primary aliphatic alcohols and secondary allylic alcohols carried out in the presence of 1 mol% TEMPO.

Cross-Linked Polyamine from Imidazolium-Based Materials: A Simple Route to Useful Catalytic Materials

Bending Sensors Based on Thin Films of Semitransparent Bithiophene-Fulleropyrrolidine Bisadducts

In this study, a novel bithiophene‐fulleropyrrolidine bisadducts system (bis‐Th2PC 60 ) was synthesized and electropolymerized by chronoamperometry onto flexible ITO/PET substrates. The resulting semitransparent thin film was characterized by XPS, FT‐IR, cyclic voltammetry and optical techniques, confirming the good outcome of the electropolymerization process. AFM investigations permitted to highlight an inherent disordered granular morphology, in which the grain‐to‐grain separation depends upon the application of bending. The electrical resistance of the thin film was characterized as function of bending (in the range 0°‐90°), showing promising responsivity to low bending angles (10°‐30°)…

New Mussel Inspired Polydopamine-Like Silica-Based Material for Dye Adsorption

A straightforward and economic procedure has been developed for the synthesis of a new polydopamine-like silica-based material that has been obtained by oxidation of catechol with KIO4 followed by reaction with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. All techniques adopted for characterization showed that the obtained material is rich in different functional groups and the morphological analyses revealed dimensions in the nanometric range. The hybrid material has been characterized by several techniques showing its polydopamine-like nature, and preliminary observations for dye adsorption have been reported.

POSS-Al-porphyrin-imidazolium cross-linked network as catalytic bifunctional platform for the conversion of CO2 with epoxides

Two heterogeneous catalysts were prepared with the aim of following the promising path of CO2 fixation into epoxides. The synthetic procedure involves a radical copolymerization of an octavinylsilsesquioxane as inorganic core building block and tetrastyrylporphyrin aluminum chloride monomer (TSP-AlCl) in presence (POSS-TSP-AlCl-imiBr) or in absence (POSS-TSP-AlCl) of a bis-vinylimidazolium bromide salt (bis-imiBr), in order to investigate if the bifunctional heterogeneous material can display better catalytic performance than the separate species. All the solids were fully characterized and tested in the synthesis of cyclic carbonates starting from CO2 and several epoxides. The synergic coo…

Supported Ionic Liquids: A Versatile and Useful Class of Materials.

Supported ionic liquids (SILs) represent a class of materials with peculiar properties and a huge potential regarding their possible applications in different fields of chemistry. Herein, we report our ongoing research about the use of SILs as support for organocatalysts, their role as catalysts themselves, and their application as support and stabilizers of palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs). The use of SILs based materials allowed achieving good results. Moreover, in some cases, after the functionalization of the catalytic species with an ion-tag moiety, a release and catch approach was employed in order to improve the catalytic activity and to facilitate the recovery of the hybrid system fo…

Fullerene-ionic-liquid conjugates: a new class of hybrid materials with unprecedented properties.

A modular approach has been followed for the synthesis of a series of fullerene-ionic-liquid (IL) hybrids in which the number of IL moieties (two or twelve), anion, and cation have been varied. The combination of C60 and IL give rise to new unique properties in the conjugates such as solubility in water, which was higher than 800 mg mL(-1) in several cases. In addition, one of the C60 -IL hybrids has been employed for the immobilization of palladium nanoparticles through ion exchange followed by reduction with sodium borohydride. Surprisingly, during the reduction several carbon nanostructures were formed that comprised nano-onions and nanocages with few-layer graphene sidewalls, which have…

Chemical Modification of Carbon Nanotubes with Sulfonylamides

First Evidence of Tris(catecholato)silicate Formation from Hydrolysis of an Alkyl Bis(catecholato)silicate

The hydrolysis of 3-ammoniumpropylbis(catecholato)silicate 1, giving two different silica-based materials containing different amounts of tris(catecholato)silicate, is reported. The latter species can be formed through an attack of catechol to the silicon atom in the pentacoordinate complex, in which the silicon-carbon bond is further activated toward electrophilic proton cleavage. The Knoevenagel reaction was used as a probe in order to test the availability of functional groups on the surface of such materials.

Straightforward preparation of highly loaded MWCNT-polyamine hybrids and their application in catalysis

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were easily and efficiently functionalised with highly cross-linked polyamines. The radical polymerisation of two bis-vinylimidazolium salts in the presence of pristine MWCNTs and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as a radical initiator led to the formation of materials with a high functionalisation degree. The subsequent treatment with sodium borohydride gave rise to the reduction of imidazolium moieties with the concomitant formation of secondary and tertiary amino groups. The obtained materials were characterised by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis, solid state 13C-NMR, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission ele…

ChemInform Abstract: A Simple Procedure for the Oxidation of Alcohols Using [Bis(acetoxy)iodo]benzene and a Catalytic Amount of Bromide Ions in Ethyl Acetate.

Primary and secondary benzylic alcohols and secondary aliphatic alcohols were oxidized to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones by using [bis(acetoxy)iodo]benzene (BAIB) and a catalytic amount of bromide ions, from tetrabutylammonium bromide or KBr, in ethyl acetate. The catalytic role of the bromide ions was also highlighted in the oxidation of primary aliphatic alcohols and secondary allylic alcohols carried out in the presence of 1 mol% TEMPO.

Enhanced power-conversion efficiency in organic solar cells incorporating copolymeric phase-separation modulators

A new class of copolymers containing oligothiophene moieties with different lengths and fullerene units have been designed and prepared by an easy and inexpensive one-step synthetic approach. The incorporation of small quantities of these copolymers into bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells with donor regioregular polythiophene (P3HT) and an acceptor fullerene derivate (PCBM) results in good control of the phase separation process without further affecting the BHJ optoelectronic properties. Indeed, under thermal annealing these copolymers allow the modulation of the growth of domains whose size depends on the length of the copolymer repetitive units. Domain size on the same length scale as…

C60-TEMPO-IL hybrid: “release and catch” organocatalyst for the oxidation of alcohols

Efficient microwave-mediated synthesis of fullerene acceptors for organic photovoltaics

Two different processes, namely the Bamford–Stevens and [4 + 2] Diels Alder reactions, have been optimized under microwave irradiation for the functionalization of fullerenes. In this manner, all the main C60- and C70-based acceptor derivatives for organic solar cells such as PCBM, DPM, BHN and ICBA, have been prepared in higher yields and shorter reaction times with respect to the reported data. These findings represent a step forward toward the wide production of cheaper organic solar cells as a consequence of the cost abatement of the acceptors given by higher yields, lower waste production, and reduced reaction time which means a strong energy saving.

Reconsidering TOF calculation in the transformation of epoxides and CO2 into cyclic carbonates

Abstract The combination of Lewis acids and Lewis bases, currently defined as catalysts and co-catalysts (or promoter) respectively, in the reaction between epoxides and CO2 to give cyclic carbonates, is discussed, starting from examples in which the Lewis base was used in larger amount with respect to the Lewis acid. In these cases, turnover frequency (TOF) values have been usually calculated taking into account solely the amount of the Lewis acid employed. The occurrence of two distinct reaction pathways, one catalysed by the sole Lewis base and the other one catalysed by the Lewis acid/Lewis base couple, in which the Lewis acid alone does not play a catalytic role, should bring researche…

Low angle bending detection semi-transparent piezoresistive sensor

We designed, fabricated, and validated a piezoresistive bending sensor, a fundamental component of wearable electronic devices for monitoring human motion. The most diffused opaque carbon-based resistance flex sensors suffer from low detection for small bending angles. The sensor we here present is based on a semi-transparent active material (fulleropyrrolidine bisadducts polymer) and has the remarkable advantage of good electrical properties for low bending angles. The fabrication steps are effective since a pre-patterned ITO/PET surface is functionalized by chronoamperometric deposition, and the silver electrical contacts are inkjet printed. We propose a fitting function of the measured t…