Enhancement in the Catalytic Activity of PdUSY in the Heck Reaction Induced by H2 Bubbling.docVIP

Molecules 2011, 16, 38-51; doi:10.3390/moleculeOPEN ACCESS molecules ISSN 1420-3049 /journal/molecules Article Enhancement in the Catalytic Activity of Pd/USY in the Heck Reaction Induced by H2 Bubbling Kazu Okumura *, Takuya Tomiyama, Sayaka Moriyama, Ayaka Nakamichi and Miki Niwa Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tottori University, 4-101, Koyama-cho Minami, Tottori, Japan * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: okmr@chem.tottori-u.ac.jp. Received: 17 November 2010; in revised form: 13 December 2010 / Accepted: 24 December 2010 / Published: 24 December 2010 Abstract: Pd was loaded on ultra stable Y (USY) zeolites prepared by steaming NH4-Y zeolite under different conditions. Heck reactions were carried out over the prepared Pd/USY. We found that H2 bubbling was effective in improving not only the catalytic activity of Pd/USY, but also that of other supported Pd catalysts and Pd(OAc)2. Moreover, the catalytic activity of Pd/USY could be optimized by choosing appropriate steaming conditions for the preparation of the USY zeolites; Pd loaded on USY prepared at 873 K with 100% H2O gave the highest activity (TOF = 61,000 h?1), which was higher than that of Pd loaded on other kinds of supports. The prepared Pd/USY catalysts were applicable to the Heck reactions using various kinds of substrates including bromo- and chloro- substituted aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds. Characterization of the acid properties of the USY zeolites revealed that the strong acid site (OHstrong) generated as a result of steaming had a profound effect on the catalytic activity of Pd. Keywords: Heck coupling reaction; USY zeolite; palladium; H2 bubbling; acid property 1. Introduction Heck reactions have been recognized as an important, useful and versatile methodology for the synthesis of aryl alkenes via arylation or vinylation of olefins. The r