N-heterocyclic carbene-stabilized metal nanoparticles within porous organic cages for catalytic application

• Published in: National science review 2022-06, Vol.9 (6), p.nwac067
• Main Authors: Liu, Tong, Bai, Sha, Zhang, Le, Hahn, F Ekkehardt, Han, Ying-Feng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2095-5138; 2053-714X; 2053-714X
• DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac067

Abstract Tuning the surface-embellishing ligands of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is a powerful strategy to modulate their morphology and surface electronic and functional features, impacting their catalytic activity and selectivity. In this work, we report the design and synthesis of a polytriazolium organic cage PIC-T, capable of stabilizing PdNPs within its discrete cavity. The obtained material (denoted Pd@PCC-T) is highly durable and monodispersed with narrow particle-size distribution of 2.06 ± 0.02 nm, exhibiting excellent catalytic performance and recyclability in the Sonogashira coupling and tandem reaction to synthesize benzofuran derivatives. Further investigation indicates that the modulation of N-heterocyclic carbene sites embedded in the organic cage has an impact on NPs’ catalytic efficiency, thus providing a novel methodology to design superior NP catalysts. The discrete cage structure and a subtle regulation of NHC sites inside the cavity facilitate the controllable formation of unique PdNPs with superior catalytic performances.