Research

We have found that homogeneous palladium nanoparticles can be obtained by treating palladium acetate with potassium tert-butoxide or sodium borohydride in the presence of alkynes (Fig.1). The nanoparticles can be stored in solution for longer than a year and are easy to handle in air. They exhibit excellent performance as hydrogenation catalysts and can efficiently synthesize cis-alkenes (2) and amines (4 and 6) from alkynes (1), organic azide compounds (3) and aromatic nitro compounds (5), respectively. They have excellent cis-alkene selectivity and functional group tolerance (no loss of the ketone, aldehyde, or benzylic hydroxy group, etc.). The catalytic activity is extremely high; the reaction proceeds quickly using only 1/1000 to 1/5000 equivalent of palladium of the substrate (raw material). It also has excellent economic efficiency and convenience, and we are examining the possibility of commercializing it in cooperation with companies.