A Metal–Organic Framework Cu2(BDC)2(DABCO) as an Efficient and Reusable Catalyst for Ullmann-Type N-Arylation of Imidazoles

Abstract

A highly porous metal–organic framework (Cu2(BDC)2(DABCO)) was synthesized and used as an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the Ullmann-type N-arylation of aryl halides with imidazoles. The Cu2(BDC)2(DABCO) was characterized by several techniques, including X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and nitrogen physisorption measurements. The catalyst offered high activity under mild conditions, confirming outstanding advantages when employing the Cu2(BDC)2(DABCO) as catalyst for Ullmann-type N-arylation reaction. The catalyst could be separated from the reaction mixture by simple filtration, and could be reused without a significant degradation in catalytic activity.