Nano-Pd Catalyzed Hydrodehalogenation and Aerobic Oxidation in Water

Significance

This paper covers the authors’ new approach to the chemistry of palladium nanoparticles dispersed in an amphiphilic polystyrene-poly(ethylene glycol) (PS-PEG) resin with their catalytic utility. Thus, the amphiphilic resin dispersion of particles of palladium (ARP-Pd) was prepared by reduction of a PS-PEG resin-supported bis­pyridine chelating palladium(II) complex with benzyl alcohol in refluxing water (Scheme 1). ARP-Pd exhibited high catalytic performance in the hydrodechlorination of chloroarenes with ammonium formate under aqueous conditions as well as aqueous aerobic oxidation of alcohols to form aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids (Scheme 2).