Functional bagasse: As a versatile catalyst for henry reaction and additive-free cycloaddition of CO2

Abstract

A facile synthetic route thrived for the synthesis of a multifunctional solid base catalyst. The amine-functionalized bagasse was synthesized by anchoring the ethylenediamine on the bagasse. Then, the functionalized bagasse was further converted to quaternary ammonium functionalized bagasse. From elemental composition, the nitrogen content of sugarcane bagasse was increased after post-functionalization and confirms the successful functionalization of amine functionality. The FT-IR analysis reveals the formation the functionalization of amine group on the secondary hydroxyl group of bagasse. Further, the formation of quaternary ammonium salt on the bagasse was supported by the XPS analysis and with the binding energy value at 401.75 eV, which corroborates the formation of C-N+ bond. The acid-base titration exhibited 0.328 mmol/g of basicity on the amine-functionalized sugarcane bagasse. The inexpensive amine-functionalized bagasse was used for the condensation of nitromethane with various bio-derived carbonyl compounds. The amine-functionalized bagasse gave complete conversion of aldehydes with 80–90% yield of desired β-nitroalkenes. The amine-functionalized catalyst manifested good recyclability up to four cycles. Further, the quaternary ammonium functionalized bagasse is used for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides without adding any external additives (metal, co-catalyst, and solvents). The quaternary ammonium functionalized bagasse showed moderate conversion of epoxides (20–61%) with good selectivity of desired cyclic carbonates.