Polyamidoamine Immobilized TEMPO Mediated Oxidation of Cellulose: Effect of Macromolecular Catalyst Structure on the Reaction Rate, Oxidation Degree and Degradation Degree

A series of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) immobilized TEMPO macromolecular catalysts were prepared by condensation reduction reactions between carbonyl groups in 4-O-TEMPO and primary amines in PAMAM. The macromolecular catalyst and NaBr/NaClO were used as catalytic system for selective oxidation of cellulose in aqueous medium. Effects of various factors, such as TEMPO loading ratios and PAMAM generations, were studied on the catalytic performances. Compared with free TEMPO, the macromolecular catalyst with less than 50 % TEMPO loading ratio had a higher reaction rate in the initial stage of the reaction. Especially, the reaction rate of G1.0 PAMAM with 30 % TEMPO loading ratio was comparable to free TEMPO in the whole reaction process. Its cellulose oxidation degree (or catalytic activity) was also equivalent to the level of free TEMPO. Interestingly, the cellulose depolymerization degree of macromolecular catalyst was not affected by the cellulose oxidation degree and was lower than that of free TEMPO. The macromolecular catalyst could be recycled efficiently by the combination of supernatant circulation and salting-out extraction, and the recycling performance was excellent.