Designed electron-deficient gold nanoparticles for a room-temperature C_sp-C_sp coupling reaction

Area of Science:

• Catalysis
• Materials Science
• Organic Chemistry

Background:

• Stille cross-coupling reactions are crucial for C-C bond formation in fine chemistry.
• Achieving high activity in heterogeneous catalysts under mild conditions remains a challenge.
• Ideal catalysts combine homogeneous activity with heterogeneous reusability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design a heterogeneous gold catalyst with enhanced room-temperature activity for C-C coupling.
• To investigate the role of Schottky heterojunctions in catalyst performance.
• To improve the efficiency of C-C bond formation reactions.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a Schottky heterojunction using gold nanoparticles and boron-doped carbon.
• Characterization of the electronic properties at the Au/carbon interface.
• Testing the catalytic performance in Stille cross-coupling reactions of alkylbromides and allylstannanes.

Main Results:

• The designed Schottky heterojunction significantly decreased electron density at the gold-carbon interface.
• Electron-deficient gold nanoparticles facilitated autocleavage of C-Br bonds.
• Achieved a high turnover frequency (TOF) of 5199 h⁻¹ at room temperature, outperforming homogeneous catalysts.

Conclusions:

• The proof-of-concept strategy successfully triggered room-temperature activity in heterogeneous gold catalysts.
• Schottky heterojunctions offer a promising approach to enhance heterogeneous catalyst performance.
• This method provides a highly efficient and reusable catalytic system for C-C bond formation.