While much effort has been devoted to heterogenizing homogeneous catalysts by anchoring molecular catalysts to solid supports, there are also opportunities for homogenizing heterogeneous catalysts by utilizing support materials that can disperse catalytic entities into liquids with they would otherwise be incompatible.  Previous examples include the use of polymers and dendrimers to stabilize molecular and nanoparticle catalysts for liquid phase operation.  We report here the application of graphene for similar purposes.  Hydrophilic sheets produced by reduction of graphene oxide can be functionalized with alkyl groups to render them dispersible in a wide range of organic solvents, both polar and non-polar.  These can be used to anchor nanocatalysts such as polyoxometalates and disperse them in organic media for a variety of applications.

Flying carpet catalysts: Utilizing graphene to homogenize heterogeneous catalysts

244th National Meeting (2012)

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