Effects of substrate molecular structure on the catalytic activity of peptide-templated Pd nanomaterials

Advancing catalytic processes toward sustainable conditions is necessary to maintain current production levels in light of dwindling natural resources. Nanomaterial-based catalysts have been suggested as a possible route to achieve this goal; however, the effects of particle structure on the reaction remain unclear. Furthermore, for each reaction, different substrates are likely to be used that vary the molecular size, functional group composition, and reactive moiety site that could significantly alter the reactivity of nanomaterial-based catalysts. In this contribution, we have studied the effects of the molecular substrate structure on the reactivity of peptide-templated Pd nanomaterials with selectable morphologies. In this regard, spherical, ribbon-like, and networked metallic nanomaterials were studied that demonstrated significant degrees of reactivity of olefin hydrogenation using the substrates that varied the molecular size and reactive group position. The results demonstrated that substrate isomerization, rather than molecular structure, plays a significant role in attenuating the reactivity of the materials. Furthermore, the Pd structures demonstrated the ability to drive multistep reactivity for the complete hydrogenation of substrates with multiple reactive groups. Such results advance the structure/function relationship of nanocatalysis that could be important in addressing future sustainability goals.