Oxidative homo-coupling of potassium aryltrifluoroborates catalyzed by gold nanocluster under aerobic conditions

Gold(0) nanoclusters, stabilized by poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (Au:PVP-n), catalyzed the oxidative honio-coupling reaction of potassium aryltrifluoroborate in water under air. Catalytic activity was dependent on the size of clusters. The smallest cluster Au:PVP-1 (d(av) = 1.3 +/- 0.3 nm) gave the highest activity, while Au:PVP-7 (d(av) = 9.5 +/- 1.0 nm) did not catalyze the horno-coupling. The catalyst was reusable for several times. Positively charged surface on the An cluster, generated by the adsorption of molecular oxygen, would be the active site of the catalysis. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.