Although metallic nanocatalysts such as palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) are known to possess higher catalytic activity due to their large surface-to-volume ratio, however, in nanosize greatly reducing their activity due to aggregation. To overcome this challenge, superparamagnetic chitosan-coated manganese ferrite was successfully prepared and used as a support for the immobilization of palladium nanoparticles to overcome the above-mentioned challenge. The Pd-Chit@MnFe2O4 catalyst exhibited high catalytic activity in 4-nitrophenol and 4-nitroaniline reductions, with respective turnover frequencies of 357.1 min-1 and 571.4 min-1, respectively. The catalyst can also be recovered easily by magnetic separation after each reaction. Additionally, the Pd-Chit@MnFe2O4 catalyst performed well in the reductive deprotection of allyl carbamate. Coating the catalyst with chitosan reduced the Pd leaching and its cytotoxicity. Therefore, the catalytic activity of Pd-Chit@MnFe2O4 was proven to be unrestricted in biology conditions.
Keywords: allyl carbamate deprotection; chitosan; magnetite; nitroarene reduction; palladium magnetite.