Heterogeneous catalysis based on supramolecular association

Cucurbituril-mediated supramolecular acid catalysis.

The rates of acid hydrolysis of N-benzoyl-cadaverine (1), mono-N-(tert-butoxy)carbonyl cadaverine (2), and benzaldoxime (3) with binding motifs for cucurbit[6]uril (1,2) and cucurbit[7]uril (1,3) were investigated in the absence and presence of these hosts. Significant rate enhancements (up to a factor of ca. 300 for the hydrolysis of 3) were observed. Competitive inhibition due to encapsulatio...

Studies in Asymmetric Catalysis: Supramolecular Catalysis and Borane-assisted Hydrogenation

The impact of nanoscience on heterogeneous catalysis.

Most catalysts consist of nanometer-sized particles dispersed on a high-surface-area support. Advances in characterization methods have led to a molecular-level understanding of the relationships between nanoparticle properties and catalytic performance. Together with novel approaches to nanoparticle synthesis, this knowledge is contributing to the design and development of new catalysts.

Heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis*

Examples of enantioselective catalysts, including homogeneous supported catalysts and biphasic liquid/liquid, are described and compared. In the case of asymmetric hydride transfer, polythiourea was proven to be more efficient for ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of aryl ketones, although the iridium complexes gave rise to higher ee when using amino sulfonamide bound to a polystyrene matrix. In th...

Supramolecular catalysis in metal-ligand cluster hosts.