 Small metal nanoparticles (MNPs) if left unprotected, eventually aggregate into larger species, which leads to catalyst inactivation. A range of porous solid supports for nanoparticles has been developed. While efficient at preventing deactivation of metal NPs, these supports decrease the specific activity of catalysts, and introduce drawbacks such as slow mass transport and organic fouling. We propose a conceptually different approach to site isolation of catalytic metal nanocapsules. Functionalized materials based on a �yolk-shell� architecture are constructed of bi-layer capsules lined with highly-fluorinated monomers inside, and highly hydrophilic on the outside. We hypothesize that the fluorous interiors prepared in this way can lead to preconcentration of molecular oxygen in the immediate solvent nanoenvironment of catalytic MNPs. Thus, while the MNPs will be protected from aggregation, a kinetically fast catalyst is likely to result. In this presentation, we shall demonstrate an approach to the synthesis of these fluorous metal nanocapsules.

Synthesis of polymer-encapsulated metal nanocapsules: An approach to functional materials with fluorous bi-layered domains

245th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.