Selenium-Modified Microgels as Bio-Inspired Oxidation Catalysts

K.H. Tan, W.J. Xu, S. Stefka, D.E. Demco, T. Kharandiuk, V. Ivasiv, R. Nebesnyi, V.S. Petrovskii, I.I. Potemkin, A. Pich*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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 H2O2 and converted to seleninic acid whilst maintaining the intact microgel microstructure. Through this approach catalytically active microgels with variable amounts of seleninic acid were synthesized. Remarkably, the microgels exhibited higher catalytic activity and selectivity at low reaction temperatures than the molecular Se catalyst in a model oxidation reaction of acrolein to acrylic acid and methyl acrylate.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9791-9796
Number of pages6
JournalAngewandte Chemie-International Edition
Volume58
Issue number29
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2019

Keywords

  • adsorption
  • aerobic oxidation
  • aldehydes
  • emulsions
  • glutathione-peroxidase
  • hydration
  • microgels
  • nanogels
  • organocatalysis
  • polymers
  • redox chemistry
  • release
  • selenium
  • size modulation
  • POLYMERS
  • GLUTATHIONE-PEROXIDASE
  • ALDEHYDES
  • RELEASE
  • ADSORPTION
  • HYDRATION
  • SIZE MODULATION
  • AEROBIC OXIDATION
  • NANOGELS
  • EMULSIONS

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