Cu3(BTC)2 as a viable heterogeneous solid catalyst for Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles with nitroalkenes

Abstract

In the present work, Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction of indole with β-nitrostyrene is examined using a readily available copper based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) namely, Cu3(BTC)2 (BTC: 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) as solid catalyst under mild reaction conditions. Among the various catalysts screened for this reaction, Cu3(BTC)2 exhibits higher activity under the optimized reaction conditions. Besides the absence of leaching of active sites, it is also observed that the catalyst can be reused for four cycles with a minimal decrease in its activity. Cu3(BTC)2 is used as a catalyst to synthesise a series of heterocyclic compounds with different indole and β-nitrostyrene derivatives in moderate to high yields. The present catalytic system shows comparable activity against to recent reports but the advantage of Cu3(BTC)2 is that it does not require any post-functionalization and above all it can be readily synthesised, thus contributing to the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds with high biological interest.