Ammonia borane hydrolysis is considered as a potential means of safe and fast method of H production if it is efficiently catalyzed. Here a series of nearly monodispersed alloyed bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts are introduced, optimized among transition metals, and found to be extremely efficient and highly selective with sharp positive synergy between 2/3 Ni and 1/3 Pt embedded inside a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) support. These catalysts are much more efficient for H release than either Ni or Pt analogues alone on this support, and for instance the best catalyst NiPt@ZiF-8 achieves a TOF of 600 mol·mol·min and 2222 mol·mol·min under ambient conditions, which overtakes performances of previous Pt-base catalysts. The presence of NaOH boosts H evolution that becomes 87 times faster than in its absence with NiPt@ZiF-8, whereas NaOH decreases H evolution on the related Pt@ZiF-8 catalyst. The ZIF-8 support appears outstanding and much more efficient than other supports including graphene oxide, active carbon and SBA-15 with these nanoparticles. Mechanistic studies especially involving kinetic isotope effects using DO show that cleavage by oxidative addition of an O-H bond of water onto the catalyst surface is the rate-determining step of this reaction. The remarkable catalyst activity of NiPt@ZiF-8 has been exploited for successful tandem catalytic hydrogenation reactions using ammonia borane as H source. In conclusion the selective and remarkable synergy disclosed here together with the mechanistic results should allow significant progress in catalyst design toward convenient H generation from hydrogen-rich substrates in the close future.

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Non-noble metal nanoparticles are notoriously difficult to prepare and stabilize with appropriate dispersion, which in turn severely limits their catalytic functions. Here, using zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) as MOF template, catalytically remarkably efficient ligand-free first-row late transition-metal nanoparticles are prepared and compared. Upon scrutiny of the catalytic principles in the hydrolysis of ammonia-borane, the highest total turnover frequency among these first-row late transition metals is achieved for the templated Ni nanoparticles with 85.7 mol mol min at room temperature, which overtakes performances of previous non-noble metal nanoparticles systems, and is even better than some noble metal nanoparticles systems. Mechanistic studies especially using kinetic isotope effects show that cleavage by oxidative addition of an O-H bond in HO is the rate-determining step in this reaction. Inspired by these mechanistic studies, an attractive and effective "on-off" control of hydrogen production is further proposed.

Long-term stable 3 nm gold nanoparticles are prepared by a simple reaction between HAuCl4 and sodium borohydride in water under ambient conditions which very efficiently catalyze 4-nitrophenol reduction to 4-nitroaniline.

Tri- and nonaferrocenyl thiol dendrons have been synthesized and used to assemble dendronized gold nanoparticles either by the ligand-substitution method from dodecanethiolate-gold nanoparticles (AB(3) units) or Brust-type direct synthesis from a 1:1 mixture of dodecanethiol and dendronized thiol (AB(9) units). The dendronized colloids are a new type of dendrimers with a gold colloidal core. Two colloids containing a nonasilylferrocenyl dendron have been made; they bear respectively 180 and 360 ferrocenyl units at the periphery. These colloids selectively recognize the anions H(2)PO(4)(-) and adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP(2)(-)) with a positive dendritic effect and can be used to titrate these anions because of the shift of the CV wave even in the presence of other anions such as Cl(-) and HSO(4)(-). Recognition is monitored by the appearance of a new wave at a less positive potential in cyclic voltammetry (CV). The anion HSO(4)(-) is also recognized and titrated by the dendronized colloid containing the tris-amidoferrocenyl units, because of the progressive shift of the CV wave until the equivalence point. These dendronized colloids can form robust modified electrodes by dipping the naked Pt electrode into a CH(2)Cl(2) solution containing the colloids. The robustness is all the better as the dendron is larger. These modified electrodes can recognize H(2)PO(4)(-), ATP(2)(-) and HSO(4)(-), be washed with minimal loss of adsorbed colloid, and be reused.

One of the primary recent improvements in molecular chemistry is the now decade-old concept of click chemistry. Typically performed as copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne (CuAAC) Huisgen-type 1,3-cycloadditions, this reaction has many applications in biomedicine and materials science. The application of this chemistry in dendrimer synthesis beyond the zeroth generation and in nanoparticle functionalization requires stoichiometric use of the most common click catalyst, CuSO(4)·5H(2)O with sodium ascorbate. Efforts to develop milder reaction conditions for these substrates have led to the design of polydentate nitrogen ligands. Along these lines, we have described a new, efficient, practical, and easy-to-synthesize catalytic complex, [Cu(I)(hexabenzyltren)]Br, 1 [tren = tris(2-aminoethyl)amine], for the synthesis of relatively large dendrimers and functional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). This efficient catalyst can be used alone in 0.1% mol amounts for nondendritic click reactions or with the sodium-ascorbate additive, which inhibits aerobic catalyst oxidation. Alternatively, catalytic quantities of the air-stable compounds hexabenzyltren and CuBr added to the click reaction medium can provide analogously satisfactory results. Based on this catalyst as a core, we have also designed and synthesized analogous Cu(I)-centered dendritic catalysts that are much less air-sensitive than 1 and are soluble in organic solvents or in water (depending on the nature of the terminal groups). These multivalent catalysts facilitate efficient click chemistry and exert positive dendritic effects that mimic enzyme activity. We propose a monometallic CuAAC click mechanism for this process. Although the primary use of click chemistry with dendrimers has been to decorate dendrimers with a large number of molecules for medicinal or materials purposes, we are specifically interested in the formation of intradendritic [1,2,3]-triazole heterocycles that coordinate to transition-metal ions via their nitrogen atoms. We describe applications including molecular recognition of anions and cations and the stabilization of transition metal nanoparticles according to a principle pioneered by Crooks with poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) dendrimers, and in particular, the control of structural and reactivity parameters in which the intradendritic [1,2,3]-triazoles and peripheral tripodal tri(ethylene glycol) termini play key roles in the click-dendrimer mediated synthesis and stabilization of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). By varying these parameters, we have stabilized water-soluble, weakly liganded AuNPs between 1.8 and 50 nm in size and have shown large differences in behavior between AuNPs and PdNPs. Overall, the new catalyst design and the possibilities of click dendrimer chemistry introduce a bridge between dendritic architectures and the world of nanomaterials for multiple applications.

Giant redox dendrimers were synthesized with ferrocenyl and pentamethylferrocenyl termini up to a theoretical number of 3(9) tethers (seventh generation). Lengthening of the tethers proved to be a reliable strategy to overcome the bulk constraint at the dendrimers periphery. These redox metallodendrimers were characterized by (1)H, (13)C, and (29)Si NMR; MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (for the low generations); elemental analysis; UV-vis spectroscopy; dynamic light scattering (DLS); atomic force microscopy (AFM); electron-force microscopy (EFM) for half- or fully oxidized dendrimers; cyclic voltammetry; and coulometry. UV-vis spectroscopy, coulometry, and analytical data are consistent with an increasing amount of defects as the generation number increases, with this amount remaining relatively weak up to G(5). AFM shows that the dendrimers form aggregates of discrete size on the mica surface, recalling the agglomeration of metal atoms in monodisperse nanoparticles. Cyclic voltammetry reveals full chemical and electrochemical reversibility up to G(7), showing that electron transfer is fast among the flexible peripheral redox sites. Indeed, the redox stability of these new electrochromic dendrimers, i.e., a battery behavior, was established by complete chemical oxido-reduction cycles, and the blue 17-electron ferrocenium and deep-green mixed-valence Fe(III)/Fe(II) dendritic complexes were isolated and characterized. AFM studies also show the reversible dendrimer size changes from upon redox switching between Fe(II) and Fe(III), suggesting a breathing mechanism controlled by the redox potential. Considerable adsorption of high-generation dendrimers on Pt electrodes such as G(7)-Fc allows the easy formation of modified electrodes that sense the ATP anion only involving the electrostatic factor even in the absence of any other type of interaction with the redox tethers.

We have investigated the movement of electrons around the peripheries of dendrimers and between their redox termini and electrodes through studies of the electrochemistry of dendrimers presenting metallocenes (and other transition metal sandwich complexes) as terminal groups. Because these compounds can be stabilized in both their oxidized and their reduced forms, their electrochemical and chemical redox processes proceed without decomposition (chemical reversibility). Most interestingly, electrochemical studies reveal that electron transfer within the dendrimers and between the dendrimers and electrodes are both very fast processes when the branches are flexible (electrochemical reversibility). When the dendrimer branches are sufficiently long, the redox events at the many termini of the metallodendrimer are independent, appearing as a single wave in the cyclic voltammogram, because of very weak electrostatic effects. As a result, these metallodendrimers have applications in the molecular recognition, sensing, and titration of anions (e.g., ATP(2-)) and cations (e.g., transition metal complexes). When the recognition properties are coupled with catalysis, the metallodendrimers function in an enzyme-like manner. For example, Pd(II) can be recognized and titrated using the dendrimer's terminal redox centers and internal coordinate ligands. Redox control over the number of Pd(II) species located within a dendrimer allows us to predetermine the number of metal atoms that end up in the form of a dendrimer-encapsulated Pd nanoparticle (PdNP). For hydrogenation of olefins, the efficiency (turnover frequency, TOF) and stability (turnover number, TON) depend on the size of the dendrimer-encapsulated PdNP catalysts, similar to the behavior of polymer-supported PdNP catalysts, suggesting a classic mechanism in which all of the steps proceed on the PdNP surface. On the other hand, Miyaura-Suzuki carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions catalyzed by dendrimer-encapsulated PdNPs proceed with TOFs and TONs that do not depend on the size of the PdNPs. Moreover these catalysts are more efficient when employed in lower (down to "homeopathic") amounts, presumably because of a leaching mechanism whereby Pd atoms escape from the PdNP surface subsequent to oxidative addition of the aryl halide. Under these conditions, the "mother" PdNPs have greater difficulty quenching the extremely active leached Pd atoms because of their low concentration. Although dendrimers presenting catalysts at their branch termini can be recovered and reused readily, their inner-sphere components can lead to steric inhibition of substrate approach. In contrast, star-shaped catalysts do not suffer from such steric problems, as has been demonstrated for water-soluble dendrimers bearing cationic iron-sandwich termini, which are redox catalysts of cathodic nitrate and nitrite reduction in water.