Silver nanoparticles supported over mesoporous alumina as an efficient nanocatalyst for N-alkylation of hetero (aromatic) amines and aromatic amines using alcohols as alkylating agent.

We have successfully embedded rhombohedral crystallites of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) over mesoporous alumina (Ag@Al2O3) material for the first time. The Ag@Al2O3 has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), ultra high resolution transmission electron microscopy (UHR-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra (UV-Vis), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The PXRD confirms the presence of the rhombohedral phase of Ag nanoparticles. The agglomeration of the silver nanoparticle having a dimension of 80-90nmhas been clearly observed from UHR-TEM images. This novel nanocatalyst showed excellent catalytic activity towards the N-alkylation of hetero (aromatic) amines and aromatic amines using alcohols as the alkylating agent. The catalyst is heterogeneous in nature and can be recovered and recycled more than five reaction cycles without any noticeable loss in its catalytic activity.

Mesoporous polyacrylic acid supported silver nanoparticles as an efficient catalyst for reductive coupling of nitrobenzenes and alcohols using glycerol as hydrogen source.

Silver nanoparticle immobilized mesoporous cross-linked polyacrylic acid (Ag-MCP-1) has been synthesized via aqueous-phase polymerization of acrylic acid followed by the surface immobilization with silver nanoparticles. The nanocomposite material has been characterized by different spectroscopic techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the formation of silver nanoparticles, while transmission electron microscope image showed that Ag nanoparticles are formed and uniformly dispersed in the mesoporous polyacrylic acid. The Ag-MCP-1 nanocomposite can be used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst in the reductive coupling of nitrobenzenes and alcohols using glycerol as hydrogen source. This nanocomposite can be reused more than five times without any significant decrease in its catalytic activity.

Ag@polypyrrole: A highly efficient nanocatalyst for the N-alkylation of amines using alcohols.

We have synthesized Ag@polypyrrole nanomaterial by dispersing ultrafine silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) over the organic polymer polypyrrole. The Ag@polypyrrole material has been characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), ultraviolet-visible absorption (UV-vis) and atomic adsorption spectroscopy (AAS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The XRD pattern suggested the cubic crystalline phase of Ag NPs in Ag@polypyrrole. TEM image analysis revealed that silver nanoparticles are highly dispersed in the polymer matrix. The Ag@polypyrrole acts as an efficient and versatile heterogeneous nanocatalyst in the N-alkylation of amines using alcohols. The catalyst can be easily prepared, highly robust and reused several times without decrease in its catalytic activity.