Rs. Underhill et Gj. Liu, Preparation and performance of Pd particles encapsulated in block copolymer nanospheres as a hydrogenation catalyst, CHEM MATER, 12(12), 2000, pp. 3633-3641
Triblock nanospheres with hydroxylated polyisoprene (PHI) coronas, cross-li
nked poly(2-cinnamoyloxyethyl methacrylate) shells, and poly(acrylic acid)
(PAA) cores were prepared following a method described previously. Equilibr
ating such nanospheres with a PdCl2 solution in methanol enabled the loadin
g of Pd2+ into the PAA cores of the nanospheres. After the excess PdCl2 in
the methanol phase was removed, Pd(II) inside the nanosphere cores was redu
ced with hydrazine to yield Pd nanoparticles. Such encapsulated Pd particle
s were dispersed in methanol or water, which solubilized PHI. Like Pd black
, the nanosphere-encapsulated Pd nanoparticles catalyzed the hydrogenation
of alkenes. The need for the reactant(s) to diffuse into and products to di
ffuse out of the encapsulating nanospheres expectedly slowed the catalytic
reactions. The more interesting aspect had been in our ability to modify th
e activity of the Pd catalyst via changing the pH and thus the conformation
of the encapsulating polymer chains.