Functional hexanuclear Y(III) cluster-based MOFs supported Pd(II) single site catalysts for aerobic selective oxidation of styrene

Abstract

Oxidation of styrene is one of the significant reactions in organic synthesis. In this work, a serious of PdCl2 moiety-decorated Y6-MOFs adopting post-synthetic strategy were fabricated as applicable single-site catalysts for oxidation of styrene. Specifically, the functional organic linker, H2bpydc (2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid), was first incorporated quantitatively into Y6 clusters-based MOF, [(CH3)2NH2]2[Y6(μ3-OH)8(bpdc)6] (bpdc = 4,4′-biphenyl dicarboxylic acid) via post-synthetic ligand exchange. Then post-synthetic Pd(II) metalation was performed to enhance the density of isolated single sites. The obtained Pd(II)-Y-bpydcx/bpdc1-x can be used as highly efficient heterogeneous single-site catalysts to promote selective oxidative cleavage of styrene to benzaldehyde using O2 as a oxidant under solvent-free and mild reaction conditions (1 atm and 80 °C). Importantly, when using Pd(II)-Y-bpydc0.8/bpdc0.2 (0.024 mmol Pd) as catalyst, the high conversion of styrene and the selectivity for benzaldehyde can reach 88.7 % and 82.2 %, respectively.