Facile C-S coupling reaction of aryl iodide and thiophenol catalyzed by Cu-grafted furfural functionalized mesoporous organosilica.

A new functionalized mesoporous organosilica has been designed via Schiff-base condensation of furfural and 3-aminopropyltriethoxy-silane (APTES) followed by its hydrothermal co-condensation with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in the presence of a cationic surfactant CTAB. Subsequent reaction of this mesoporous organosilica with Cu(OAc)(2) in absolute ethanol leads to the formation of a new Cu(II)-grafted mesoporous organosilica catalyst 1. Powder XRD, HR TEM, FE SEM, N(2) sorption and FT IR spectroscopic tools are used to characterize the materials. This Cu-anchored mesoporous material acts as an efficient, reusable catalyst in the aryl-sulfur coupling reaction between aryl iodide and thiophenol for the synthesis of value added diarylsulfides.