Cooperative catalysis by general acid and base bifunctionalized mesoporous silica nanospheres

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.200462424

(Chemical Equation Presented) A team effort: Mesoporous silica nanosphere (MSN) materials bifunctionalized with a general acid group and a base group in various relative concentrations are described and shown to function as cooperative catalytic systems. The turn-over numbers observed indicate that the acid groups can activate substrates in cooperation with the base groups to catalyze reactions that involve carbonyl activation (see picture).

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.200462424

Communications
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Cooperative Catalysis by General Acid and
Base Bifunctionalized Mesoporous Silica
Nanospheres**
Seong Huh, Hung-Ting Chen, Jerzy W. Wiench,
Marek Pruski, and Victor S.-Y. Lin*
Enzymes engaged in carbonyl chemistry often employ both
general acid and general base catalytic residues in the active
[
1]
sites to activate specific substrates cooperatively. Recently,
several synthetic catalytic systems have utilized the double
hydrogen-bonding capability of a urea or thiourea function-
ality as a general acid catalyst to activate carbonyl compounds
[
2]
in homogeneous reactions. However, to our knowledge, the
cooperation of general acid and base groups has yet to be
demonstrated in any synthetic heterogeneous catalyst.
Clearly, an important prerequisite for the construction of
[*] S. Huh, H.-T. Chen, Dr. J. W. Wiench, Dr. M. Pruski,
Prof. Dr. V. S.-Y. Lin
Department of Chemistry and
U.S. DOE Ames Laboratory
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011 (USA)
Fax: (+1)515-294-0105
E-mail: vsylin@iastate.edu
[
**] We thank the US DOE, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, for the
financial support of this research through the Catalysis Science
Grant No. AL-03-380-011 and the US National Science Foundation
Grant No. CHE-0239570.
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://www.angewandte.org or from the author.
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Chemie
such a cooperative catalytic system would be the multi-
functionalization of a solid support with control of the relative
concentrations and proper spatial arrangements between
these functional groups. Many monofunctionalized mesopo-
[
3]
rous silica catalysts have been reported; however, we and
others have focused on multifunctionalized mesoporous
[
4]
catalysts.
Herein, we report a new cooperative catalytic system
comprising a series of bifunctionalized mesoporous silica
nanosphere (MSN) materials with various relative concen-
trations of a general acid, the ureidopropyl (UDP) group, and
a general base, the 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino]-
propyl (AEP) group (Figure 1). Three bifunctional AEP/
UDP–MSN catalysts, which are described by their initial
molar ratio of the organoalkoxysilane precursors as AEP/
UDP = 2/8, 5/5, and 8/2, were synthesized by using our
[
5,6]
previously reported cocondensation method. The synthesis
and characterization of the monofunctionalized MSNs with
[
5a]
either AEP or UDP functionality were reported previously.
All of the mono- and bifunctionalized MSNs exhibited
spherical particle shapes with similar particle sizes
Figure 2. TEM micrographs of a) 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN and b) 8/2 AEP/
UDP–MSN) materials (Philips CM-30 at 300 kV).
[
5a,6]
(
0.6 mm).
The actual concentrations of the two functional
The N2 surface sorption analyses of these
bifunctionalized MSNs revealed typical type-
IV BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) iso-
therms. The measured BET surface areas of
2
9
/8, 5/5, and 8/2 AEP/UDP–MSNs were
38.7, 759.6, and 830.4 m g , respectively.
2
À1
The corresponding BJH (Barret–Joyber–
Halenda) average pore diameters of these
MSNs were 27.8, 22.9, and 25.9 ꢀ.
To investigate how UDP and AEP could
catalyze cooperatively different reactions
involving carbonyl activation, the aforemen-
tioned AEP/UDP–MSN materials were
employed as catalysts for aldol, Henry, and
cyanosilylation reactions. As shown in
Scheme 1, a common electrophile, 4-nitro-
Figure 1. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM, top) and schematic drawings (bottom) of
the bifunctional MSNs: a) 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN, b) 5/5 AEP/UDP–
MSN, and c) 8/2 AEP/UDP–MSN. Scale bar: 2.0 mm.
groups (AEP and UDP) were measured with the pre-
1
3
29
viously described solid-state C CP MAS and Si MAS
NMR spectroscopic methods (CP MAS is cross-polarized
[
5b,6]
magic-angle spinning).
tions of the organic functional groups (AEP+UDP) in the
The total surface concentra-
2
1
/8, 5/5, and 8/2 AEP/UDP–MSNs were determined to be
.3, 1.0, and 1.5 mmolg , respectively, and the concen-
À1
tration ratios of AEP/UDP were 2.5/7.5, 5.4/4.6, and 6.7/
[
6]
3
.3, respectively. The XRD measurements of these
materials showed large (100) peaks and broad higher
diffraction patterns, which are typical of a disordered pore
[
5]
structure. The observed d100 values were 37.8, 41.7, and
8.1 ꢀ for sample 2/8, 5/5, and 8/2 AEP/UDP-MSNs,
3
respectively. The TEM micrographs of these materials
also confirmed their disordered pore structure (Figure 2).
Scheme 1. Three model reactions catalyzed by the MSN catalysts: a) aldol reaction,
b) Henry reaction, c) cyanosilylation.
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Communications
[
a]
benzaldehyde, and different nucleophiles, acetone, nitro-
Table 1: TONs for the MSN-catalyzed reactions.
methane, and trimethylsilyl cyanide, were used as reactants.
In these reactions, the secondary amines of the AEP group
were shown to be responsible for the enamine formation with
Reaction
aldol
MSN catalyst
T [8C]
Product
TON
2/8 AEP/UDP
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
1, 2
22.6
11.9
8.6
5.4
6.4
0.0
0.0
12.4
9.3
5
8
/5 AEP/UDP
/2 AEP/UDP
[
7]
acetone (aldol reaction), the deprotonation of CH NO2
3
[
4]
(
Henry reaction), and the generation of a potential nucle-
AEP
[
[
[
b]
b]
b]
ophile from (CH ) SiCN through hypervalent silicate forma-
physical mixture
UDP
3
3
[
8]
[d]
tion (cyanosilylation). On the other hand, a general acid
group (UDP) could activate the carbonyl group of 4-nitro-
benzaldehyde to nucleophilic attack through double hydro-
[
c]
[d]
pure MSN
2
5
/8 AEP/CP
/5 AEP/CP
[
2]
gen bonding. Therefore, the presence of both AEP and
UDP groups in close proximity could activate cooperatively
the electrophile and nucleophile to enhance the reaction rates
of the desired catalytic reactions (Scheme 2). Indeed, the
observed turnover numbers (TONs) of the catalysts in these
reactions (Table 1) are consistent with this hypothesis. In the
case of the aldol reaction, the monofunctionalized AEP–MSN
catalyzed the conversion of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde (0.5 mmol)
into compound 1 (0.091 mmol) and a small amount of the
dehydrated product, compound 2 (0.018 mmol), in the
presence of acetone (10 mL). In contrast, UDP–MSN did
not show any catalytic activity under the same reaction
conditions. This result suggested that the presence of the AEP
functionality is crucial for the conversion of acetone solvent
Henry
2/8 AEP/UDP
5/5 AEP/UDP
8/2 AEP/UDP
AEP
90
90
90
90
90
90
90
90
90
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
125.0
91.1
65.8
55.9
79.2
5.8
0.0
78.0
71.0
physical mixture
UDP
[
c]
[d]
pure MSN
2
5
/8 AEP/CP
/5 AEP/CP
cyanosilylation
2/8 AEP/UDP
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
276.1
170.5
109.4
111.4
126.9
45.9
5
8
/5 AEP/UDP
/2 AEP/UDP
AEP
physical mixture
UDP
[
7]
molecules into the active enamine species. However, a
synergistic effect between the AEP and UDP groups was
observed in the case of the bifunctionalized AEP/UDP–MSN
catalysts.
[c]
[d]
pure MSN
43.0
[
a] TON=mmol product per mmol catalyst during 20-h reaction time for
aldol and Henry reactions and 24 h for the cyanosilylation reaction with
0 mg of MSN. [b] Physical mixture=AEP–MSN (20 mg)+UDP–MSN
As shown in Table 1 and Figure 3, the TONs of all three
AEP/UDP–MSNs were always higher than those of AEP–
MSN. The largest TONs were observed in the case of the 2/8
AEP/UDP–MSN catalyst. For example, in the Henry and
cyanosilylation reactions catalyzed by 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN,
the observed high TONs (125.0 and 276.1, respectively)
indicate a genuine and superior catalytic performance in
comparison with those of other bifunctional AEP/UDP–
MSNs. In the aldol reaction, the largest TON (22.6) was also
observed with 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN as the catalyst. Further-
more, the TON (6.4) of a 1:1 mixture of the monofunction-
alized AEP–MSN and UDP–MSN was clearly lower than that
of the 5/5 AEP/UDP–MSN (11.9). The TONs of the
bifunctionalized MSNs decreased significantly as the ratio
of the surface concentrations of the AEP and UDP groups
increased from 2.5/7.5 to 5.4/4.6 to 6.7/3.3. According to our
2
(20 mg). [c] Nonfunctionalized MCM-41. [d] Yield [%].
solid-state NMR spectroscopic data, the total numbers of
organic functional groups (AEP+UDP) in these bifunction-
alized MSNs were similar; only the relative concentrations
between the AEP and UDP groups varied. The recyclability
of each of the bifunctional AEP/UDP–MSN catalysts was
examined by isolating the catalysts from the reaction mixtures
after 20 h by centrifugation. The catalysts were reused three
times without purification. The TEM images of the recycled
MSN materials showed some surface depositions of amor-
phous substances, which presumably arose from physisorbed
reactants or products. Nonetheless, in all three reactions
catalyzed by these recycled bifunctional MSNs, the TONs
[
6]
Scheme 2. AEP and UDP groups may activate the electrophile and nucleophile cooperatively to enhance the reaction rates of the desired catalytic
reactions.
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Chemie
between the general acid (UDP) and base (AEP) groups in
our system. The control experiment with the physical mixture
of AEP–MSN and UDP–MSN exhibited a slightly higher
reaction rate in the cyanosilylation than AEP–MSN alone
owing to the increased number of surface silanol groups,
which can also moderately catalyze the reaction.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that a general acid
group, UDP, can activate substrates in cooperation with a
general base group, AEP, to catalyze various reactions that
involve carbonyl activation. By fine-tuning the relative
concentrations and proper spatial arrangement of different
cooperative functional groups, we envisage that our multi-
functionalized MSNs could serve as new selective catalysts for
many important reactions.
Figure 3. Diagram showing the TONs for the aldol reaction with the
catalysts 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN (1), 5/5 AEP/UDP–MSN (2), 8/2 AEP/
UDP–MSN (3), AEP–MSN (4), physical mixture of AEP–MSN and
UDP–MSN (5), and UDP–MSN (6).
Experimental Section
The functionalized materials were synthesized by using the previously
[
5]
described cocondensation reaction. Typical procedure (2/8 AEP/
UDP–MSN): mixture of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide
CTAB; 2.0 g, 5.49 mmol), NaOH (2.0m, aqueous; 7.0 mL,
were no more than 10% lower than those of the freshly
prepared catalysts.
A
(
1
4.00 mmol), and H O (480 g, 26.67 mol) was heated to 808C for
2
To examine whether this activity enhancement was due to
the “surface dilution effect” of the AEP group, we inves-
tigated the catalytic performance of two bifunctional MSN
materials (2/8 and 5/5 AEP/CP–MSN) that have the AEP
group and a cyanopropyl (CP) functionality. CP cannot
activate the electrophiles through a double hydrogen-bonding
interaction. The synthesis and characterization of these two
30 min. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS; 9.34 g, 44.8 mmol), 3-[2-(2-amino-
ethylamino)ethylamino]propyltrimethoxysilane (AEPTMS; 0.305 g,
.15 mmol), and ureidopropyltrimethoxysilane (UDPTMS; 1.023 g,
1
4.60 mmol) were added rapidly and sequentially to the resulting
solution to yield an opaque reaction mixture. White precipitates were
observed after vigorous (550 rpm) stirring of the reaction mixture for
about 2 min. After an additional 2 h of heating at 808C, the as-
synthesized bifunctionalized 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN material was iso-
lated by hot filtration, washed with copious amounts of water and
methanol, and dried under vacuum. The CTAB surfactant molecules
were extracted from the mesopores of the MSN by placing the as-
synthesized material (1.0 g) in a mixture of methanol (100 mL) and
hydrochloric acid (0.6 mL) for 2.5 h at 608C. The resulting solid
product, which was free of surfactant, was filtered and washed with
water and methanol, then dried under vacuum for 3 h at 908C. The
non-functionalized MSN was prepared according to a reported
[
5b]
materials were reported previously. As shown in Table 1,
the TONs of the 2/8 and 5/5 AEP/CP–MSNs are 12.4 and 9.3,
respectively. Indeed, the TON increased slightly as the AEP/
CP ratio decreased. However, the large difference in TONs
between the AEP/CP–MSN and the AEP/UDP–MSN cata-
lysts, which have similar surface concentrations of the AEP
group, can not be explained by the surface dilution effect.
These results strongly indicate that the rate of the aldol
reaction is accelerated as the surface concentration of UDP
groups increases. Given that the UDP group can only activate
the electrophile, the observed rate acceleration in the UDP-
abundant MSN catalysts suggested that the activation of the
carbonyl group of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde might be the rate-
determining step in our cooperative catalysts. Such a “coop-
erative dual catalysis” effect in a homogeneous system, in
which one catalyst activates the nucleophile and the other
catalyst is responsible for the activation of the electrophile,
[5a]
method.
Aldol reaction: All chemicals were purchased from Aldrich and
used without further purification. Reagent-grade acetone was used
without further purification. A mixture of the MSN catalyst (20 mg)
and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde (0.076 g, 0.5 mmol) in acetone (10 mL) was
heated at 508C with constant stirring for 20 h. The reaction mixture
was then filtered through a glass frit, and the solids were washed with
chloroform and acetone. The solvent was removed from the filtrate by
rotary evaporation, and the product was dried under high vacuum.
The residue was completely dissolved in CDCl3, and THF
( ꢀ 10 mmol) was added as an internal standard to the CDCl3
solution. Analysis of the product mixture was performed by measur-
[
9]
was reported recently by Jacobsen and co-workers. In their
study, the best molar ratio between the two catalysts was 0.67
and not 1, which indicates that the best ratio between the
cooperative catalytic groups greatly depends on the kinetic
nature of the reaction of interest. A similar trend in catalytic
reactivity was also observed in the Henry and cyanosilylation
reactions. A pronounced cooperative effect was manifested
by a twofold increase in the TON of 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN
relative to that of 8/2 AEP/UDP–MSN in both reactions
1
ing H NMR spectra on a Bruker DRX400 spectrometer. Distinctive
chemical shifts were observed for the hydrogen atoms of the two
products. The signals were assigned by comparing the chemical shifts
observed in the spectra of the products with literature values.
Henry (nitroaldol) reaction: Reagent-grade nitromethane was
used without further purification. A mixture of the MSN catalyst
(20 mg) and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde (0.453 g, 3.0 mmol) in nitromethane
(10 mL) was heated at 908C with constant stirring for 20 h. The
reaction mixture was filtered through a glass frit, and the solids were
washed with chloroform and acetone. The solvent was removed from
the filtrate by rotary evaporation, and the residue was dried under
(
Table 1). As the surface concentration of the primary
catalytic group (AEP) in 2/8 AEP/UDP–MSN (AEP =
high vacuum then completely dissolved in [D ]acetone (10 mL). THF
6
À1
0
(
.32 mmolg ) is only a third that of 8/2 AEP/UDP–MSN
(
ꢀ 10 mmol) was added as an internal standard to the [D ]acetone
6
À1
1
AEP = 1.00 mmolg ), these unusual catalytic enhance-
solution. The product was analyzed by H NMR spectroscopy on a
Bruker DRX400 spectrometer. Distinctive chemical shifts were
ments are strong indications of the existence of cooperation
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Communications
observed for the vinylic hydrogen atoms of the product. The signals
were assigned by comparing the chemical shifts observed for the
product with literature values.
1999, 111, 2288 – 2309; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1999, 38, 2154 –
2174; c) A. Corma, Chem. Rev. 1997, 97, 2373 – 2419.
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Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 1010 – 1011; b) J. Liu, Y. Shin, Z. Nie,
J. H. Chang, L. -Q, Wang, G. E. Fryxell, W. D. Samuels, G. J.
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Mater. 2003, 15, 4247 – 4256; b) S. Huh, J. W. Wiench, B. G.
Trewyn, S. Song, M. Pruski, V. S.-Y. Lin, Chem. Commun. 2003,
2364 – 2365.
Cyanosilylation: A mixture of the MSN catalyst (20 mg), 4-
nitrobenzaldehyde (0.453 g, 3.0 mmol), and (CH ) SiCN (0.298 g,
3
3
3
.0 mmol) in dry toluene (10 mL) was heated at 508C with constant
stirring for 24 h. The reaction mixture was then filtered through a
glass frit, and the solids were washed with chloroform and acetone.
The solvent was removed from the filtrate by rotary evaporation, and
the residue was dried under high vacuum then completely dissolved in
CDCl . THF ( ꢀ 10 mmol) was added as an internal standard to the
3
1
CDCl solution. The product was analyzed by H NMR spectroscopy
3
on a Bruker DRX400 spectrometer. A distinctive chemical shift of
[6] See Supporting Information for details.
5
.6 ppm was observed for the silyl ether product. The signals were
[7] a) Y. Kubota, K. Goto, S. Miyata, Y. Goto, Y. Fukushima, Y.
Sugi, Chem. Lett. 2003, 32, 234 – 235; b) B. List, Acc. Chem. Res.
2004, 37, 548 – 557.
[8] M. L. Kantam, P. Sreekanth, P. L. Santhi, Green Chem. 2000, 2,
47 – 48.
assigned by comparing the chemical shifts observed for the products
with literature values.
1
3
Solid-state NMR spectra were obtained at 100.59 ( C) and
2
9
7
9.47 MHz ( Si) on a Varian/Chemagnetics Infinity spectrometer
equipped with a doubly tuned 5-mm MAS probe. Direct polarization
[9] G. M. Sammis, H. Danjo, E. N. Jacobsen, J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2004, 126, 9928 – 9929.
[10] G. E. Maciel in Encyclopedia of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance,
Vol. 7 (Eds.: D. M. Grant, R. K. Harris), Wiley, Chichester, 1996,
pp. 4370 – 4386.
(
DP) and variable-amplitude CP MAS methods were used under the
[
4a,5b]
conditions described in our previously published studies.
These
measurements provided quantitative evidence for functionalization
of the mesopores with the organic moieties and confirmed the
structure of the bifunctionalized materials. For AEP–MSNs, UDP–
2
9
13
MSNs, and AEP/UDP–MSNs, the Si and C NMR spectra were
assigned as described for our earlier study (see the Supporting
[
4a, 5a]
Information).
The methods used for quantitative measurements
2
9
13
of the Si and C signal intensities are detailed below. All NMR
spectroscopic results are summarized in the Supporting Informa-
tion, which contains the relative concentrations of T and Q groups
silicon groups (=SiO) Si(OH)
and as Q for m = 0), the molar concentrations of organic functional
[
6]
n
n
n
(
1
Rm are designated as T for m =
n
(4ÀnÀm)
n
groups, and the corresponding average molecular formulae.
n
n
[10]
Relative concentrations of T and Q silicon groups
were
2
9
obtained from the analysis of Si DPMAS spectra. In agreement with
[
5a]
our earlier results,
the measurements of the T1 relaxation in
n
functionalized MSNs yielded T values in the order of 50–65 s for T
1
n
groups and 30–45 s for Q groups. Therefore, a delay of 300 s between
2
9
scans was used during the acquisition of Si NMR spectra. The
accumulation of 270 scans yielded intensities that were accurate
within Æ 10%. Although direct polarization is the preferred method
1
3
for quantitative measurements, relative intensities of C signals were
measured by using a CP MAS based method. The strategy, developed
[
5b]
in our earlier study, was also successfully used for the AEP/UDP–
[
4a]
MSN system in our previous report. The procedure uses differences
H
1
[5b]
in values of T1 and tCH times between AEP and UDP.
The
bifunctionalized samples could be characterized quantitatively with-
1
3
[4a,5b]
out tedious measurements of the C build-up curves
by properly
measuring and processing the CP MAS spectra with two different
contact times (i.e., 0.4 and 1.5 ms) with known physical mixtures of
[
4a,5a]
monofunctionalized samples as intensity standards.
Received: October 26, 2004
Published online: February 11, 2005
Keywords: cooperative phenomena · heterogeneous catalysis ·
.
mesoporous materials · organic–inorganic hybrid composites ·
silicon
[
[
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830
ꢀ 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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