A novel supramolecular compound 2,2′-bipyridyl-phosphotungstic acid: synthesis and catalysis

A new supramolecular compound (C10H8N2)3.2·H3PW12O40·25.6H2O (Bipy–PW12) was synthesized by self-assembly design, and characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FTIR), and 31P NMR spectra. Bipy–PW12 can effectively catalyze oxidative degradation of chitosan with H2O2 in heterogeneous phase. To obtain water-soluble chitosan with an average molecular weight of 5000, the optimum reaction conditions were determined as follows: reaction temperature, 80 °C; reaction time, 13 min; H2O2 concentration, 2.7 mol/L; and mass ratio of Bipy–PW12 to chitosan, 0.01.