G-/C-rich Oligonucleotides Stabilized Pd Nanocatalysts for the Suzuki Coupling Reaction Under Mild Conditions

Pd nanoparticles with narrow size distributions between 1.3 and 3.3 nm are prepared using G-/C-rich oligonucleotide as the template. These DNA-Pd nanoparticles efficiently catalyze the Suzuki coupling reaction and exhibit highly catalytic activities under mild conditions, which are greatly dependent upon the particle size of Pd nanoparticles besides the DNA sequence. For the coupling reaction of iodobenzene and phenylboronic acid at 60 A degrees C in the presence of KOH, it can be achieved high TOF value of 2646 mol biphenyl (mol Pd x h)(-1) over AG22-Pd and 3640 mol biphenyl (mol Pd x h)(-1) over CT22-Pd. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the yield of 100 % in biphenyl is obtained with only 0.0055 mol% AG22-Pd at 60 A degrees C for 1 h in the solvent of EtOH/H2O (1:2) using Na2CO3 or K2CO3 as the base. It is illustrated that G-/C-rich oligonucleotides are promising templates to modulate easily the morphology of Pd nanoparticles in aqueous solution with high catalytic activity.