Selenium-Modified Microgels as Bio-Inspired Oxidation Catalysts.

Authors :: Tan KH
Xu W
Stefka S
Demco DE
Kharandiuk T
Ivasiv V
Nebesnyi R
Petrovskii VS
Potemkin II
Pich A
Source :: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) [Angew Chem Int Ed Engl] 2019 Jul 15; Vol. 58 (29), pp. 9791-9796. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Jun 06.
Publication Year :: 2019
Abstract: Active colloidal catalysts inspired by glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were synthesized by integration of catalytically active selenium (Se) moieties into aqueous microgels. A diselenide crosslinker (Se X-linker) was successfully synthesized and incorporated into microgels through precipitation polymerization, along with the conventional crosslinker N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS). Diselenide bonds within the microgels were cleaved through oxidation by H <subscript>2</subscript> O <subscript>2</subscript> and converted to seleninic acid whilst maintaining the intact microgel microstructure. Through this approach catalytically active microgels with variable amounts of seleninic acid were synthesized. Remarkably, the microgels exhibited higher catalytic activity and selectivity at low reaction temperatures than the molecular Se catalyst in a model oxidation reaction of acrolein to acrylic acid and methyl acrylate.<br /> (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)