The importance of interdiscipline in heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis

Tethering chiral Rh diene complexes inside mesoporous solids: experimental and theoretical study of substituent, pore and linker effects on asymmetric catalysis

“…26,29 On the other hand, asymmetric catalysis in mesoporous solids is challenging, because various parameters such as pore size, pore polarity, lengths and flexibility of the linker between catalyst and pore wall, spatial distribution of the catalyst in the pores, surface modification or silanol groups remaining on the surface might interfere with the catalyst, substrate and/or products resulting in diffusion limitation, reduced reaction rates, unfavorable linker/catalyst, pore wall/ catalyst interactions or surface collapse ultimately leading to decreased yields and stereoselectivity. 22,25,[30][31][32][33] For example, in previous studies of the spacer type the influence of the length of unbranched alkyl linkers and ethylene glycol derived linkers on the activity of immobilized catalysts was compared. [34][35][36] It was found that longer linkers resulted in higher activity due to better flexibility and thus better accessibility of the catalyst.…”