Hydroxyapatite-Supported Palladium Nanoclusters:  A Highly Active Heterogeneous Catalyst for Selective Oxidation of Alcohols by Use of Molecular Oxygen

Treatment of a stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (HAP), Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2, with PdCl2(PhCN)2 gives a new type of palladium-grafted hydroxyapatite. Analysis by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), IR, and Pd K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) proves that a monomeric PdCl2 species is chemisorbed on the HAP surface, which is readily transformed into Pd nanoclusters with a narrow size distribution in the presence of alcohol. Nanoclustered Pd0 species can effectively promote the alcohol oxidation under an atmospheric O2 pressure, giving a remarkably high turnover number (TON) of up to 236,000 with an excellent turnover frequency (TOF)…