Immobilized copper(II) complexes on montmorillonite and MCM-41 as selective catalysts for epoxidation of alkenes

Copper-complexed dipyridyl-pyridazine functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica as a heterogeneous catalyst for styrene epoxidation

A new heterogeneous catalyst has been synthesized by immobilization of a copper complex on dipyridyl-pyridazine functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica (dppz-vPMO). This ordered support was first prepared by a co-condensation reaction between vinyltriethoxysilane and 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane and further post-functionalized through a hetero Diels-Alder reaction with 3,6-di-2-pyridyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine. Techniques such as XRD, N₂ isotherms, TEM, ¹³C NMR, XPS and DRIFT, among others, were employed to characterize the surface functionalized materials. These results have proven the ordered mesostructure of the materials as well as the presence of novel nitrogen-chelating heterocyclic compounds on the pore surface after the post-modification process. Additionally, the successful anchoring of a copper complex on the dipyridyl-pyridazine (dppz) ligands has been confirmed. The resulting material was evaluated as a heterogeneous catalyst in the epoxidation of styrene using tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) as an oxidant. Under the optimized reaction conditions, Cu@dppz-vPMO showed a high styrene conversion (86.0%) and a remarkable selectivity to styrene oxide (41.9%). Indeed, this catalyst provided excellent catalytic results in terms of stability, reaction rate, conversion and selectivity compared to other bipyridine-like copper catalysts.

Magnetic (chitosan/laponite)-immobilized copper(ii) ions: an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for azide–alkyne cycloaddition

Under a green protocol and using Cu²⁺-loaded magnetic chitosan/laponite catalytic system, CuAAC reactions were successfully performed to obtain 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles in good to excellent yields.

Carbonylation of cyclohexene to 2-cyclohexene-1-one by montmorillonite-supported Co(II) catalysts

A novel environmentally-friendly catalytic system for the carbonylation of cyclohexene with molecular oxygen under conditions of mild temperature, and under an atmospheric oxygen pressure is presented. In this system, a series of readily-prepared cobalt complexes of 2-aminophenol and its derivatives immobilised onto montmorillonite were used as catalysts. The catalysts were characterised by FT-IR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet visible spectra, scanning electron microscopic measurements, transmission electron microscopic measurements and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method. The effects of various reaction conditions such as catalyst dosage, temperature and time were optimised, obtaining an 88.7 % conversion with 72.0 % selectivity of 2-cyclohexene-1-one in 6 h. The results show that the catalytic activity of the cobalt complexes encapsulated in montmorillonite is higher than those of the free complexes. In addition, the heterogeneous catalysts were stable and can be recycled up to five times without any noticeable change in the catalytic activity.

Al-pillared montmorillonite clay minerals: Low-pressure CO adsorption at room temperature

Three kinds of Al-pillared montmorillonite clay minerals (AlPMON) ion-exchanged with cobalt(II), nickel(II), or copper(II) ions were prepared (abbreviated as CoAlPMON, NiAlPMON, or CuAlPMON, respectively). For the 673-K- and 873-K-treated samples, carbon monoxide (CO) adsorption measurement was performed at room temperature under an atmosphere of low CO pressure. The 873-K-treated CuAlPMON sample exhibited more efficient adsorption properties for CO molecules, in comparison with both-temperatures-treated CoAlPMON and NiAlPMON samples and the 673-K-treated CuAlPMON sample. In addition, irreversibly adsorbed CO was present only on the CuAlPMON sample that had been treated at 873 K; the sites responsible for strong CO adsorption were formed in the sample after the pretreatment at the higher temperature.

Observation of characteristic IR band assignable to dimerized copper ions in montmorillonite

Copper ion-exchanged montmorillonite clays, which had been prepared by ion exchange in an aqueous solution of CuCl(2) at a temperature above 323 K, exhibited the characteristic IR band in the region 3360-3310 cm(-1). No such bands were observed for the samples prepared by using different ion-exchange solutions and at different temperatures. From the spectroscopic observations, it was revealed that the ion-exchanged copper ions (Cu(2+)) are in the form of dimerized species by bridging two hydroxyls, [Cu(2+) <(OH(-)(2) > Cu(2+)], in montmorillonite.