Use of Tyrosyl Bolaamphiphile Self-Assembly as a Biochemically Reactive Support for the Creation of Palladium Catalysts

The self-assembly of tyrosine-containing bolaamphiphile was applied as a catalyst support on which palladium (Pd) catalysts were loaded to exploit the biochemical activity of tyrosine. The bolaamphiphile self-assembled to form spherical structures exposing tyrosine moieties on the surface. The phenyl group of tyrosine was then used to create the Pd catalyst on the spherical self-assembly. Silver (Ag) clusters were decorated on the surface, exploiting the reducing function of the phenyl group. These Ag clusters were further applied to create Pd catalysts through the galvanic replacement reaction in the next step. The produced Pd catalyst showed reliable catalytic activity in decomposing dichromate with a pseudo-first-order reaction rate. The reaction rate constant increased proportionally to the Pd loading on the self-assembly support. In addition, as a solid support, the bolaamphiphile self-assembly made catalyst recovery easy, and the recovered Pd catalysts showed consistent activity after several cycles. The experimental results demonstrated that the bolaamphiphile self-assembly is a promising organic support with biochemical activity for the facile creation of metallic catalysts.