Pt and Pd nanoparticles immobilized on amine-functionalized zeolite: Excellent catalysts for hydrogenation and heck reactions

Development of simple and reliable protocols for the immobilization of catalytically active metal nanoparticles is an important aspect of the nanomaterials field. Amine groups bind very strongly to platinum and palladium nanoparticles; therefore, we have attempted to entrap aqueous platinum and palladium nanoparticles on the surface of micron-sized zeolite particles functionalized with amine groups. In this paper, we demonstrate that platinum and palladium nanoparticles bound at high surface coverage on 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTS)-functionalized Na-Y zeolites are excellent heterogeneous catalysts for hydrogenation and Heck reactions. The assembly of platinum or palladium nanoparticles on the zeolite surface occurs via an interaction with the amine groups present in APTS leading to a new class of catalyst. The synthesized catalysts were well-characterized by UV-vis, FTIR, TGA, XRD, XPS, and TEM. TEM images of the fresh and used catalysts indeed show that the platinum and palladium nanoparticles supported on amine-functionalized zeolites remain unchanged at the end of the reactions. The rate of hydrogenation and Heck reactions over these catalysts was much higher than those obtained using conventionally prepared catalysts.