CuI anchored onto mesoporous SBA-16 functionalized by aminated 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane with thiosemicarbazide (SBA-16/GPTMS-TSC-CuI): A heterogeneous mesostructured catalyst for: S -arylation reaction under solvent-free conditions

Article abstract of DOI:10.1039/c8gc03931c

Herein, we report the novel synthesis of Cu^I anchored onto a cage-like mesoporous material (SBA-16), which was successfully functionalized by aminated 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane with thiosemicarbazide (SBA-16/GPTMS-TSC-Cu^I) into an efficient and highly recyclable heterogeneous catalyst. The as-synthesized mesostructured catalyst (SBA-16/GPTMS-TSC-Cu^I) was comprehensively characterized by different techniques, namely, FT-IR, FIR, SAXRD, XRD, XPS, BET, TEM, FE-SEM, EDX, EDX mapping, TGA, ICP-OES, and CHNS analyses. SBA-16 with a unique "super-cage" structure efficiently controlled the formation of dispersed organic and metal species in the mesoporous channels. These confined nanoparticles with a narrow particle size distribution (3-7 nm) exhibited excellent catalytic activity in the S-arylation reaction without necessitating the use of toxic solvents and/or expensive metal catalysts. Interestingly, the mesoporous catalyst was extremely stable under the reaction conditions and could be easily separated by a simple filtration process and reused for at least seven recycle runs (without any appreciable loss in catalytic activity). Due to the inimitable structure of the abovementioned mesostructured catalyst, the C-S coupling products of aryl halides with S₈/thiourea under solvent-free conditions were obtained in good to excellent yields in remarkably reduced reaction times in comparison to those reported in earlier studies.