Title
Utilization of modified silicates and aluminosilicates as nanoreactors for organic reactions
Code
SP2018/91
Summary
It has been proved several times the synthetic and natural silicates, the alumino-silicates and titano-silicates may act as catalysts of certain organic reactions. The portfolio of reactions catalyzed by these materials includes both reactions generally or specifically catalyzed by acids, Lewis acidic sites or bases, and reactions requiring a specific geometric arrangement of several different functional groups at the catalyst center. These findings are revealing the potential of silicate catalysts in more complex chemical processes and reactions that may be useful in the total synthesis of natural substances, stereospecific chemical synthesis, or drug synthesis.
The proposed project investigates the hypothesis that catalytic activity is not only caused by the presence of active catalytic sites, whether on the surface or the pores of the catalyst, but also to the overall environment of the pores and other geometric cavities that the silicate structures might offer. At least, in the case of layered silicates, it has been demonstrated several times that such sites offer a completely unique chemical environment that is incomparable with the solution medium or solid phase. The environment of these cavities can therefore be considered, given its characteristic dimensions, as a sui generis nanoreactor.
The aim of the project is to identify and characterize these sites in natural and artificially prepared layered silicates using AFM, TEM, XRD, SEM, XPS and theoretical calculations. The identified sites may be modified to fit better for catalysis of organic reactions. Part of the objectives of the proposed project is to demonstrate the functionality of such nanoreactors at least in one type of reaction and to report these results in the form of publications, conference papers, or brief reports.
The project follows the previous project SP2017 / 69 of the authors' team Mgr. Iveta Martausova, Ph. D. and Bc. Daniela Spustová. The extension of the team of researchers allows completing the activities started from the previous project on one hand, and to publish the results obtained, as well as follow up the study of problems to better focus on the characterization of the catalyzing materials and the identification of their nanoreactor domains, on the other. As well as the previous, this project is carried out with support and in close cooperation with the group of prof. Ing. Jiří Čejka, DrSc. (J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, v. v. i.). Further, the project is being carried out in cooperation with the Institute of Environmental Technologies, VŠB-TUO, namely with RNDr. Alexandr Martaus, Ph. D.
Start year
2018
End year
2018
Provider
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
Category
SGS
Type
Specifický výzkum VŠB-TUO
Solver
Martausová Iveta Mgr., Ph.D.