Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2013, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (8): 1589-1598.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(12)60624-X

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Molecularly imprinted polymer containing Fe(III) catalysts for specific substrate recognition

Wenqing Suna, Rong Tana, Weiguo Zhenga, Donghong Yina,b   

  1. a Institute of Fine Catalysis and Synthesis, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Traditional Chinese Medicine Research (Ministry of Education), Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, Hunan, China;
    b Research and Development Center, China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Corporation, Changsha 410014, Hunan, China
  • Received:2013-01-09 Revised:2013-05-14 Online:2013-08-16 Published:2013-07-30
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21003044, 20973057), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (10JJ6028), and the Program for Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Province.

Abstract: A series of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) containing equal amounts of iron(III) were prepared by the polymerization of acrylamide and ethylene dimethacrylate in the presence of the template of o-, m-, or p-nitrobenzyl alcohol (NBA) and a FeCl3 complex. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, N2 adsorption, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The catalysts exhibited high catalytic activity and unique substrate recognition in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol derivatives in water using 30% H2O2 as the oxidant. The conversion of p-NBA was 80% over the p-Fe(III)-MIP catalyst when the template molecule was p-NBA, which had a good fit with the substrate. However, the conversion of p-NBA was less than 58% over o-Fe(III)-MIP or m-Fe(III)-MIP due to the mismatch of the substrate with the cavities of the Fe(III)-MIP. The results indicated that the Fe(III)-MIP samples contained molecular recognizable shapes and sites in their cavities that match the corresponding substrate. The special recognizing cavities of the Fe(III)-MIP catalyst exhibited unique substrate recognition, and therefore the selectivity for the substrate was improved.

Key words: Molecularly imprinted polymer, Iron(III) catalyst, Benzyl alcohol derivative, Catalytic oxidation, Substrate recognition