Biomimetic Synthesis of Pd Nanocatalysts for the Stille Coupling Reaction

• Published in: ACS nano Vol. 3; no. 5; pp. 1288 - 1296
• Main Authors: Pacardo, Dennis B, Sethi, Manish, Jones, Sharon E, Naik, Rajesh R, Knecht, Marc R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 26.05.2009
• Subjects: Biomimetic Materials - chemistry; Catalysis; Nanostructures - chemistry; Nanostructures - ultrastructure; Palladium - chemistry; Peptides - chemistry; Stille coupling; peptides; catalysis; Pd nanoparticles; bioinspired nanotechnology
• ISSN: 1936-0851; 1936-086X
• DOI: 10.1021/nn9002709

Here we report on the biomimetic synthesis of Pd nanoparticles for use as models of green catalytic systems. The nanomaterials are synthesized using peptides isolated via phage-display techniques that are specific to Pd surfaces. Using this synthetic strategy, peptide-functionalized Pd nanoparticles of 1.9 ± 0.3 nm in diameter are produced, which are soluble and stable in aqueous solutions. Once characterized, these biobased materials were then used as catalysts to drive the formation of C−C bonds using the Stille coupling reaction. Under the conditions of an aqueous solvent at room temperature, quantitative product yields were achieved within 24.0 h employing catalyst loadings of ≥0.005 mol % of Pd. Additionally, high TOF values of 3207 ± 269 mol product·(mol Pd·h)−1 have been determined for these materials. The catalytic reactivity was then examined over a set of substrates with substitutions for both functional group and halide substituents, demonstrating that the peptide-based Pd nanoparticles are reactive toward a variety of functionalities. Taken together, these bioinspired materials represent unique model systems for catalytic studies to elucidate ecologically friendly reactive species and conditions.