Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2013, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (11): 1964-1974.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(12)60701-3

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Progress in organic reactions catalyzed by bimetallic nanomaterials

Shuangfei Caia,b, Dingsheng Wanga, Zhiqiang Niua, Yadong Lia   

  1. a Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China;
    b National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
  • Received:2013-07-20 Revised:2013-09-02 Online:2013-10-18 Published:2013-10-18
  • Contact: Yadong Li
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the State Key Project of Fundamental Research for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (2011CB932401, 2011CBA00500, 2012CB224802) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21221062, 21171105, 21322107, 21131004).

Abstract:

Nanocatalysis, which is also known as semi-heterogeneous catalysis, sits at the boundary between homogeneous catalysis and heterogeneous catalysis and has been the subject of increasing interest during the course of the last few years. Significant progress has recently been made towards the catalytic applications of bimetallic nanomaterials, which show high levels of activity, selectivity and recyclability. This review provides a summary of bimetallic nanomaterial-catalyzed organic transformations, including selective oxidation, hydrogenation, and coupling reactions, as well as dechlorination, amidation, reductive amination, and hydrogenolysis reactions, and the asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions of arylboronic acids to enones. The complex organic molecules using bimetallic nanocatalysis would be anticipated soon. There is significant scope for bimetallic nanocatalysts to be further developed in terms of our general understanding of their fundamental properties and practical applications. Future development may benefit from the rational design and controllable synthesis of bimetallic nanomaterials, as well as a deeper understanding of their reaction mechanisms and further progress towards the development of sophisticated computational studies involving catalysis, which would require interdisciplinary collaborations.

Key words: Bimetallic nanomaterial, Catalyst, Organic reaction, Heterogeneous catalysis