PdAu@MIL-100(Fe) cooperatively catalyze tandem reactions between amines and alcohols for efficient N-alkyl amines syntheses under visible light

Abstract

PdAu@MIL-100(Fe), with PdAu alloy nanoparticles of ca. 1.7 nm encapsulated inside MIL-100(Fe) cavities, were prepared via a double-solvent impregnation followed by photoreduction. As compared with bare Pd@MIL-100(Fe), bimetallic PdAu@MIL-100(Fe) showed superior activities for the tandem reactions between amines and alcohols to produce N-alkyl amines under visible-light irradiation, ascribed to the promoting effect of metallic Au in the photocatalytic alcohol-to-aldehyde dehydrogenation. A Pd/Au ratio dependent N-alkylation activity was observed over PdAu@MIL-100(Fe), implying the possibility of synchronizing the reaction rates of two consecutive steps in the N-alkylation reaction, i.e., photocatalytic alcohol-to-aldehyde dehydrogenation and imines hydrogenation, to optimize the whole reaction. This study provides a highly efficient and stable catalytic system for the realization of alkylation of amines via a successful coupling of MOF-based photocatalysis and metal nanoparticle-based hydrogenation. This work also demonstrates that the reaction rates of different catalytic steps in a cascade/tandem reaction can be synchronized for an efficient overall reaction via a rational design of the multifunctional catalysts.