Nanofiber Catalyst Supports and Solution-Based Processes for Deposition of Catalytic Metals and Metal Oxides Wayne E. Jones Jr., Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

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Nanofiber Catalyst Supports and Solution-Based
Processes for Deposition of Catalytic Metals and
Metal OxidesWayne E. Jones Jr., Department of
Chemistry, State University of New York,
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000

• Heterogeneous catalysts have been of particular
  interest due to their low catalyst loading as
  well as ease of recovery and recyclability from
  reaction medium. Further, their stability at high
  temperatures, good selectivity and enhanced
  reactivity under mild conditions render these
  catalysts cost effective. Recent studies on metal
  nanoparticle catalysts suggest that the large
  surface area to volume ratios increase the
  effective interaction of catalysts with the
  reacting solutions. This has been proved to be
  due to the new and novel properties accrued to
  these nanomaterials as we reduce down to
  nanoscale. We have successfully fabricated
  titania nanofibers with dimensions 150 nm by
  Electrospinning technique, subsequently followed
  by a 5 loading of Pd nanoparticles (6-10 nm) on
  the TiO2 nanofibers via a wetness impregnation
  technique. The Pd-TiO2 catalyst exhibited a high
  activity and selectivity for the C-C coupling
  reaction in Heck catalysis, with selectivity
  values of up to 100 and high yields of up to
  83. These values were comparable to the
  commercially available Pd/C catalyst. The Pd-TiO2
  catalyst was effectively filtered from the
  product and re-used for subsequent reactions.

Heck C-C coupling reaction of an olefin with an
aryl halide
Pd-TiO2 catalyst
Work in progress is aimed at understanding
catalytic mechanisms of the active species and
evaluation of their catalytic activity with
related reactions such Suzuki C-C coupling and
hydrogenation reactions. We are also looking into
the fabrication and characterization of other
catalyst nanostructures such as gold
nanoparticles adsorbed on metal oxides eg ZrO2
and ZnO.