RAFT Synthesized Polymer Supported Pd Nanoparticles as an Effective Heterogeneous Catalyst for Alcohol Aerobic Oxidation Reactions

During the last decades much interest have been focused on the applications of functionalized polymers as a support for heterogeneous catalysts because they provide great ease in separation of the catalyst and isolation of the products[1,2]. However, the higher cost, the lake of physical and chemical stability and lower activity are disadvantages of traditional insoluble polymer supported catalysts [3]. Today, new methods for the preparation of controlled polymeric polymers are used which the most important of these methods are the living radical polymerization techniques and among these methods, the Reversible Addition Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization is more diverse and efficient [4]. The catalytic behavior of palladium nanoparticles has already been proven in various types of reactions and has been investigated even in the stabilized form on the different polymers. In this study diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride and acrylamide were used as monomers in the RAFT polymerization process in the presence of a suitable crosslinking agent and these polymers was utilized for stabilization of Pd nanoparticles. The fabricated supported catalyst was used in the oxidation reaction of alcohols. The results indicated that these supported catalyst had a suitable selectivity and efficiency. Some analysis such as FESEM, TEM and XRD were used for characterization of catalyst structure and also the effect of crosslinking and polymerization method on the catalytic efficiency was investigated.