Cooperative strategies for controlling selectivity in oxidative cleavage of C--C bonds: Insights from nanoscale Ni-NiO-ZnO catalysis

The relocalization of charge at interfaces between metals and metal oxides can have significant implications for catalytic reactions, leading to improved efficiency and selectivity that cannot be achieved by a single component alone. Disclosed herein the application of nanoscale interfaces comprising zinc oxide-nickel oxide-nickel (ZnO- NiO-Ni) for the specific oxidative cleavage of carbon-carbon (C-C) multiple bonds, leading to the formation of aldehydes, employing hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizing agent. Mechanistic studies involving spectroscopic, kinetic, and controlled experiments shed light on the underlying processes. The heterostructure between ZnO- NiO-Ni and their synergistic cooperation was found to be crucial for the observed results, which could not be achieved by any single component alone. Overall, the utilization of nanoscale zinc oxide-nickel oxide-nickel interfaces provides a promising strategy for the synthesis of aldehydes from the oxidative cleavage of C-C multiple bonds, with advantages including improved efficiency, selectivity, multiple reusability, wide substrate scope, and reasonable tolerance towards different functional groups, indicating their potential applicability in synthetic chemistry.

Automated summary

The relocalization of charge at interfaces between metals and metal oxides can have significant implications for catalytic reactions. In this study, the application of nanoscale interfaces comprising zinc oxide-nickel oxide-nickel (ZnO-NiO-Ni) for the oxidative cleavage of carbon-carbon (C-C) multiple bonds was investigated. The results showed that the heterostructure between ZnO-NiO-Ni and their synergistic cooperation played a crucial role in achieving the desired oxidation reaction.