Selenium‐Modified Microgels as Bio‐Inspired Oxidation Catalysts

Abstract

Active colloidal catalysts inspired by glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were synthesized by integration of catalytically active selenium (Se) moieties into aqueous microgels.A diselenide crosslinker (Se X-linker) was successfully synthesized and incorporated into microgels through precipitation polymerization, along with the conventional crosslinker N,N'methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS). Diselenide bonds within the microgels were cleaved through oxidation by H 2 O 2 and converted to seleninic acid whilst maintaining the intact microgel microstructure.T hrough this approach catalytically active microgels with variable amounts of seleninic acid were synthesized.R emarkably,t he microgels exhibited higher catalytic activity and selectivity at lowr eaction temperatures than the molecular Se catalyst in amodel oxidation reaction of acrolein to acrylic acid and methyl acrylate.

Organoselenium chemistry-based polymer synthesis

“…Beside these studies, there were sporadic reports on the redox chemistry of selenium, such as reversibletuning Krafft temperature and the reversible sol-gel transition. 179,180…”

“…217,218 In general, transition metals are broadly studied, because these heterogeneous catalysts are easy to process and separate after the reactions. 219 However, selenium-based catalysts have also been given much attention, including organoselenium compounds, polymer-loaded selenium agents and selenium-containing polymers, due to their better catalytic activity and selectivity. In the past few years, some studies involving organoselenium compounds as catalysts have been reported.…”

Temperature and pH Responsive Light‐Harvesting System Based on AIE‐Active Microgel for Cell Imaging

“…By choosing and rationally designing the monomers, the prepared microgels can physically or chemically be responsive to external stimuli, for example pH, [ 4,5 ] icon strength, [ 6 ] light, [ 7 ] and pressure. [ 8 ] Considering the physical and chemical property can be tailored as needed, microgels have been widely utilized in many fields including drug delivery, [ 9 ] catalysis, [ 10 ] metal detection, [ 11 ] and biosensors. [ 12,13 ]…”

Heterogeneous Catalysts “on the Move”: Flow Chemistry with Fluid Immobilised (Bio)Catalysts

“…In the last time many catalytic hydrogel systems have been reported, emphasizing the potentially broad applicability of this system , , . Despite probably being as well exciting, we did not investigate the catalyst recyclability in this study, as we were rather interested in a process delivering constant product quality.…”