Sudipta K. Kundu

Cu-grafted mesoporous organic polymer: a new recyclable nanocatalyst for multi-component, N-arylation and S-arylation reactions

A new mesoporous Cu-MPTA-1 nanocatalyst has been synthesized via a simple and facile in situ radical polymerization of triallylamine in the presence of an organic–organic self-assembly of anionic surfactant SDS, followed by grafting of Cu(II) at room temperature under an inert atmosphere. This nanomaterial has been characterized by elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), N2 adsorption–desorption studies, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and EPR spectroscopy. Cu-MPTA-1 acts as an efficient heterogeneous nanocatalyst exhibiting a high catalytic activity for N-arylation and S-arylation reactions using water as a green solvent and also exhibits an excellent catalytic activity for the one-pot synthesis of propargylamines via a three component coupling of an alkyne, an amine and an aldehyde at room temperature. Moreover, the catalyst is easily recoverable and can be reused six times without an appreciable loss of catalytic activity in the three component coupling reaction. The highly dispersed Cu(II) sites in the Cu-grafted mesoporous polymer could be responsible for the observed high activities of the Cu-MPTA-1 catalyst in the coupling reactions. No evidence of leached Cu from the catalyst during the course of the reaction has been observed, suggesting true heterogeneity in the catalytic process.

Fabrication of Ruthenium Nanoparticles in Porous Organic Polymers: Towards Advanced Heterogeneous Catalytic Nanoreactors.

A novel strategy has been adopted for the construction of a copolymer of benzene-benzylamine-1 (BBA-1), which is a porous organic polymer (POP) with a high BET surface area, through Friedel-Crafts alkylation of benzylamine and benzene by using formaldehyde dimethyl acetal as a cross-linker and anhydrous FeCl3 as a promoter. Ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs) were successfully distributed in the interior cavities of polymers through NaBH4, ethylene glycol, and hydrothermal reduction routes, which delivered Ru-A, Ru-B, and Ru-C materials, respectively, and avoided aggregation of metal NPs. Homogeneous dispersion, the nanoconfinement effect of the polymer, and the oxidation state of Ru NPs were verified by employing TEM, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping, cross polarization magic-angle spinning (13)C NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analytical tools. These three new Ru-based POP materials exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the hydrogenation of nitroarenes at RT (with a reaction time of only ≈ 30 min), with high conversion, selectivity, stability, and recyclability for several catalytic cycles, compared with other traditional materials, such as Ru@C, Ru@SiO2, and Ru@TiO2, but no clear agglomeration or loss of catalytic activity was observed. The high catalytic performance of the ruthenium-based POP materials is due to the synergetic effect of nanoconfinement and electron donation offered by the 3D POP network. DFT calculations showed that hydrogenation of nitrobenzene over the Ru (0001) catalyst surface through a direct reaction pathway is more favorable than that through an indirect reaction pathway.

A triazine-based porous organic polymer: a novel heterogeneous basic organocatalyst for facile one-pot synthesis of 2-amino-4H-chromenes

A new triazine-based porous organic polymer TPOP-2 has been synthesized through the reaction between cyanuric chloride and tris(2-aminoethyl)amine in anhydrous 1,4-dioxane under N2 atmosphere. The porous polymer has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N2 sorption, HR TEM, FE SEM, 13C CPMAS NMR, CO2-TPD, TG-DTA and FT IR spectroscopic tools. Due to the high density of amine and triazine functional groups, this porous polymer is N-rich and possesses excellent surface basicity, and is utilized as a heterogeneous metal-free basic organocatalyst for the one-pot three-component condensation reaction of aromatic aldehyde, activated phenols (resorcinol and 2-naphthol) and malononitrile for the synthesis of 2-amino-chromenes under solvent-free or aqueous conditions. The ease of catalyst synthesis and its efficient use for five consecutive cycles without noticeable loss in catalytic activity suggest significant future potential of this new N-rich porous organic polymer material for a wide range of base catalyzed reactions.

Ag-grafted covalent imine network material for one-pot three-component coupling and hydration of nitriles to amides in aqueous medium

A nitrogen rich porous covalent imine network material (CIN-1) has been successfully employed for grafting silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The Ag NPs grafted CIN-1, Ag-CIN-1 has been characterized by elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and EPR spectroscopic studies. Ag-CIN-1 acts as a truly heterogeneous catalyst in the hydration of nitriles to amides and the A3 coupling reactions between the alkyne, amine and aldehyde to produce propargylamines by using water as a green solvent.

Silver nanoparticles embedded over porous metal organic frameworks for carbon dioxide fixation via carboxylation of terminal alkynes at ambient pressure.

Ag nanoparticles (NPs) has been supported over a porous Co(II)-salicylate metal-organic framework to yield a new nanocatalyst AgNPs/Co-MOF and it has been thoroughly characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), UV-vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) and N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. The AgNPs/Co-MOF material showed high catalytic activity in the carboxylation of terminal alkynes via CO2 fixation reaction to yield alkynyl carboxylic acids under very mild conditions. Due to the presence of highly reactive AgNPs bound at the porous MOF framework the reaction proceeded smoothly at 1atm CO2 pressure. Moreover, the catalyst is very convenient to handle and it can be reused for several reaction cycles without appreciable loss of catalytic activity in this CO2 fixation reaction, which suggested a promising future of AgNPs/Co-MOF nanocatalyst.

Controlled Synthesis of a Hexagonal‐Shaped NiO Nanocatalyst with Highly Reactive Facets {1 1 0} and Its Catalytic Activity

A new facile chemical approach has been developed to produce hexagonal‐shaped NiO nanocrystals with high‐energy facets {1 1 0} under hydrothermal synthesis followed by annealing in the presence of air. The phase purity, crystallinity, shape/size, and mesostructure of NiO nanocrystals were investigated by powder XRD and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. The size, shape, and exposed crystal facets of the nanocrystals are the key factor for their physical and chemical properties. Herein, the chemical properties of hexagonal‐shaped NiO nanocrystals have been tested for the reduction of carbonyl compounds in comparison with NiO nanoparticles and bulk NiO materials. The reactivity of the NiO nanocrystals is enhanced dramatically through morphology evolution. In particular, hexagonal‐shaped NiO nanocrystals with highly reactive {1 1 0} facets exhibit approximately 12 and 25 % higher catalytic activity than NiO nanoparticles and bulk NiO, respectively. These hexagonal‐shaped NiO nanocrystals are active over several cycles for the reduction of carbonyl compounds to their respective alcohol in the presence of 2‐propanol.

Strongly coupled Mn3O4–porous organic polymer hybrid: a robust, durable and potential nanocatalyst for alcohol oxidation reactions

Herein we describe a novel strategy for noble-metal-free Mn3O4@POP (porous organic polymer) hybrid synthesis by encapsulation of Mn3O4-NP in the interior cavity of a porous organic polymer which exhibited enhanced catalytic activity and stability for oxidation of diverse activated and nonactivated alcohols relative to the conventional catalysts to demonstrate the benefits of such a nanoarchitecture in heterogeneous nanocatalysis. The use of a non precious catalyst, tremendous recyclability (upto 15 catalytic runs) and exceptional stability make our system innovative in nature, addressing all the profound challenges in the noble-metal-free heterogeneous catalysts development community.

Towards rational design of core–shell catalytic nanoreactor with high performance catalytic hydrogenation of levulinic acid

We have described herein the synthesis and characterization of a uniquely designed mesoporous silica shell@Pd nanoparticle tethered amine functionalized silica core catalyst and its catalytic properties in the hydrogenation of levulinic acid, a key platform molecule in many biorefinery schemes, into γ-valerolactone, using formic acid as a sustainable H2 source. Monodispersed silica core particles (∼300 nm in diameter) were prepared and further functionalized by amine groups and then the in situ loading of Pd nanoparticles was carried out. Pd0-NPs are sandwiched between the nonporous silica core and the mesoporous silica shell, leading to the exceptional stability of the catalyst. The nanostructured material was thoroughly characterised by means of powder XRD patterns, N2 sorption, FE-SEM, UHR-TEM, TG-DTA, and XPS analysis. Our core–shell nanostructure catalyst encapsulated with Pd nanoparticles exhibited a significant increase in catalytic activity and excellent selectivity towards γ-valerolactone (99%) compared with control catalysts for levulinic acid hydrogenation, including Pd@C and Pd@SiO2 (without a mesoporous SiO2 shell). Our results suggest that the core–shell silica based nanocatalyst offers tremendous recyclability (up to the 10th catalytic run with consistent conversion and selectivity of γ-valerolactone), stability (no leaching of Pd and structure collapsing) and no sign of deactivation.

Designed Architecture of Porous Organic Polymer Wrapped MnFe2O4 Nanocrystals: A Novel Water Splitting Photocatalyst

A novel MnFe2 O4 -porous organic polymer (POP) nanocomposite was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method and using the highly cross-linked N-rich benzene-benzylamine POP. The nanocomposite presented highly efficient photocatalytic performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from pure water without addition of any sacrificial agent under one AM 1.5 G sunlight illumination. A photocatalytic activity of 6.12 mmol h-1  g-1 was achieved in the absence of any noble metal cocatalyst, which is the highest H2 production rate reported for nonprecious metal catalysts. The photocatalytic performance of MnFe2 O4 -POP could be attributed to the intrinsic synergistic effects of manganese ferrite (MnFe2 O4 ) nanoclusters interacting with the nitrogen dopant POP with a unique mesoporous nanoarchitecture and spatially confined growth of MnFe2 O4 in the interconnected POP network, leading to high visible-light absorption with fast electron transport.

Mesoporous polyacrylic acid supported silver nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for reductive coupling of nitrobenzenes and alcohols using glycerol as hydrogen source

Silver nanoparticle immobilized mesoporous cross-linked polyacrylic acid (Ag-MCP-1) has been synthesized via aqueous-phase polymerization of acrylic acid followed by the surface immobilization with silver nanoparticles. The nanocomposite material has been characterized by different spectroscopic techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formation of silver nanoparticles, while transmission electron microscope image showed that Ag nanoparticles are formed and uniformly dispersed in the mesoporous polyacrylic acid. The Ag-MCP-1 nanocomposite can be used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst in the reductive coupling of nitrobenzenes and alcohols using glycerol as hydrogen source. This nanocomposite can be reused more than five times without any significant decrease in its catalytic activity.