Search for: All records

Metal-mediated chemical reactions have been a vital area of research for over a century. Recently, there has been increasing effort to improve the performance of metal-mediated catalysis by optimizing the structure and chemical environment of active catalytic species towards process intensification and sustainability. Network-supported catalysts use a solid (rigid or flexible) support with embedded metal catalysts, ideally allowing for efficient precursor access to the catalytic sites and simultaneously not requiring a catalyst separation step following the reaction with minimal catalyst leaching. This minireview focuses on recent developments of network-supported catalysts to improve the performance of a wide range of metal-mediated catalytic reactions. We discuss in detail the different strategies to realize the combined benefits of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis in a metal catalyst support. We outline the unique versatility, tunability, properties, and activity of such hybrid catalysts in batch and continuous flow configurations. Furthermore, we present potential future directions to address some of the challenges and shortcomings of current flexible network-supported catalysts. 

This study presents a set of strategies for producing potent antibacterial fabrics by functionalizing nonwoven fabrics (NWFs) with antimicrobial peptides and polymers (AMPs). The incorporation of AMPs is initially optimized on 2D substrates by evaluating conjugation on a poly(maleic anhydride) copolymer coating versus adsorption on polycationic/anionic films and microgels. The evaluation of the resulting surfaces againstS. aureusandE. colihighlights the superior antibacterial activity of poly‐ionic films loaded with daptomycin and polymyxin B as well as microgels featuring controlled release of bacitracin and polymyxin B. These formulations are translated onto spun‐bond polypropylene and poly(ethylene terephthalate) NWFs. The poly‐ionic coatings are either covalently anchored or physically adsorbed onto the surface of the fibers, while the microgels and antibacterial polymers are adsorbed and photo‐crosslinked thereon using a ultraviolet (UV)‐crosslinkable benzophenone‐based polymer. Selected formulations loaded with bacitracin and polymyxin B afford a 10⁵‐fold reduction ofStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)andEscherichia coli (E. coli)in artificial sweat, respectively, on par with commercial antibacterial NWFs. The proposed antibacterial fabric, however, outperforms its commercial counterparts in terms of biocompatibility, showing virtually no adverse effect on human epidermal keratinocytes. Collectively, these results demonstrate affordable and scalable routes for developing antimicrobial NWFs that efficiently eliminate resilient pathogenic bacteria.