Direct Synthesis of Amides from Oxidative Coupling of Benzyl Alcohols and N-substituted Formamides Using a Co–Al Based Heterogeneous Catalyst

Abstract

Present work reports the direct synthesis of amides from oxidative coupling of benzyl alcohols with various N-substituted formamides using a cobalt-hydrotalcite (Co-HT) derived catalyst. The Co-HT derived catalysts (Co-HT-2, Co-HT-3 and Co-HT-4 having Co2+/Al3+ molar ratio in the catalyst preparation mixture as 1/1, 2/1 and 3/1 respectively) were prepare following a co-precipitation method and characterized well by powder XRD, XPS, FEG-SEM, EDS, DTG–TGA, FT-IR and N2 physisorption measurements. A range of functional amides were obtained in good yields from oxidative coupling of various substituted benzyl alcohols and a range of N-substituted formamides using Co-HT-3 catalyst and oxidant TBHP. Mechanistic investigation suggests that the amidation reaction is associated with the formation and coupling of radical species. Furthermore, the Co-HT derived catalyst was easily recoverable and recyclable with retained high catalytic activity towards the oxidative coupling of benzyl alcohol with DMF.