Performance of a biomimetic oxidation catalyst immobilized on silica particles

A biomimetic oxidation catalyst, cobalt porphyrin with thiol linkers, was chemically conjugated to silica particles and utilized in the oxidation of hydroquinone to benzoquinone. The cobalt porphyrin/silica particle catalyst was characterized with Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The catalytic performance of the cobalt porphyrin molecules was compared to previous results for the same catalyst grafted to a gold surface and on silicon wafers. The measured catalytic activity, after background correction, was 100 times higher than that of its homogeneous counterpart, 10 times higher than that on a silicon wafer, and almost the same as that on a gold surface. The turnover frequency rates after 400 h are still comparable with initial rates reported for homogeneous porphyrins and salophens, whereas the use of particles as support increases the active surface area, which removes the limitations for scale-up associated with the previously used silicon wafers and gold surfaces.