An innovative BASF catalyst manufacturing technology (NanoSelect TM ) is introduced which allows production of heterogeneous catalysts with excellent control over metal crystallite sizes. NanoSelect TM technology enabled the development of Pd catalysts which are leadfree Lindlar catalyst replacements in alkyne-to-cis-alkene hydrogenations. NanoSelect TM Pt catalysts showed excellent chemoselectivity in substituted nitro-arene hydrogenation reactions without build-up of hydroxylamine intermediates. All NanoSelect TM produced catalysts show markedly higher activity per gram of metal leading to tenfold less use of precious metal.

The production of stable redox-active layers on electrode surfaces can lead to improvements in electronic device design. Enhanced stability can be achieved by pretreatment of electrode surfaces to provide surface chemical functional groups for covalent tethering of redox complexes. Herein, we describe pretreatment of glassy carbon electrodes to provide surface carboxylic acid groups by electro-reduction of an in situ-generated aryl diazonium salt from 3-(4-aminophenyl)propionic acid. This surface layer is characterized by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electrochemical blocking studies. The surface carboxylic acid generated is then used to tether an osmium complex, [Os(2,2'-bipyridyl)2(4-aminomethylpyridine)Cl]PF6, to provide a covalently bound redox-active monolayer, E(0) ' of 0.29 V (vs Ag/AgCl in phosphate buffer, pH 7.4), on the pretreated glassy carbon electrode. The layer proves stable to pH, temperature, and storage conditions, retaining electroactivity for at least 6 months.