). His research interests include precise design of multiactive sites on a catalytic surface, detailed characterization of active site environments, and establishment of the "concept of concerted catalysis on surface" for creating novel catalysis and molecular transformation.
AbstractMultiactive site catalysts have been developed for conducting one-pot synthesis and highly efficient reactions based on the principle of concerted catalysis. Ru-grafted hydrotalcite containing both Ru and base sites on its outer surface exhibits high catalytic activity for the one-pot synthesis of dinitrile compounds. A reaction system consisting of a strong acid, base, and Pd species is capable of catalyzing a one-pot process consisting of five successive reactions, esterification, deacetalization, aldol reaction, hydrogenation, and Michael reaction, to produce a final product, 2,4-dicyanoester, from starting materials containing cycnoacetic acid and acetal, with excellent overall yield. Immobilization of an amine base onto a solid acid surface affords an acidbase bifunctional catalytic surface with controlled acidbase interactions. Various nucleophilic addition reactions including the one-pot synthesis of dinitroalkane derivatives proceeds effectively by acidbase concerted catalysis. The concept of concerted catalysis on solid surfaces can be extended to synergistic/double-activation catalysis between a metal complex and organic base immobilized on a surface. Further, the concept of multiactive site catalysis can also be applied to a homogeneous catalyst system. For example, a Cu-bisphosphine complex exhibits excellent catalytic performance for the transformation of CO 2 to valuable chemicals, such as cyclic carbonate, silyl formate, and formamides.