Rhodium nanoparticles stabilized by ionic copolymers in ionic liquids: long lifetime nanocluster catalysts for benzene hydrogenation.

Novel ionic liquid-soluble ionic copolymers containing imidazolium ionic liquidlike units have been synthesized. Rhodium nanoparticles stabilized by the ionic copolymer in ionic liquids have been successfully obtained. The nanoparticles showed unprecedented lifetime and activity in arene hydrogenation under forcing conditions (a temperature of 75 degrees C and a hydrogen pressure of 40 bar) with a total turnover (TTO) of 20 000 (in five total recycles of 4000 TTOs each) and a turnover frequency of 250 h-1, demonstrating that the combination of ionic liquids with ionic liquidlike stabilizers is a pathway towards highly stable and active nanoparticle catalysts.