Post-Process-Functionalized Catalytic Electrospun and 2D-Printed Structures for Wolf–Lamb-Type Catalysis

A process for preparing active, strong base and acid self-standing individual membranes and printed structures is established by electrospinning and two-dimensional (2D) printing of the corresponding polymeric base and polymeric acid on a neutral plastic substrate. The active polymeric acid and strong base used in this work were (poly(styrene-co-styrene sulfonic acid-co-methacryloyl benzophenone)) and poly(styrene-co-4-vinylbenzylamine-co-N-(4-benzoylphenyl)acrylamide), respectively. The active acid–base printed structures and membranes were compared for their activity in a standard two-step acid-catalyzed deacetalization reaction of dimethoxybenzyl acetal to benzaldehyde followed by a base-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation with ethyl cyanoacetate toward ethyl-2-cyano-3-phenyl acrylate reaction in one pot in different solvents. Both 2D-printed acid–base structures and electrospun membranes could be arranged in one pot to complete the two-step reaction without destroying each other’s activity. High conversions, fast reaction, and reusability make 2D-printed structures favorable in toluene over electrospun membranes. The kinetic parameters were also calculated to address the solvent’s influence and further strengthen the systems’ understanding and comparison.