Phenyl and ionic liquid based bifunctional periodic mesoporous organosilica supported copper: An efficient nanocatalyst for clean production of polyhydroquinolines.

A novel phenyl and ionic liquid based bifunctional periodic mesoporous organosilica supported copper (Cu@BPMO-Ph-IL) is prepared, characterized and its catalytic application is developed in the clean production of polyhydroquinolines. The Cu@BPMO-Ph-IL was prepared via chemical grafting of ionic liquid groups onto phenyl-based PMO followed by treatment with copper acetate. This nanocatalyst was characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTs), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), nitrogen-sorption and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses. This was successfully applied in the one-pot Hantzsch condensation of aldehydes, ammonium acetate, alkylacetoacetates and dimedone to prepare a set of different derivatives of polyhydroquinolines in high yields and selectivity. The catalyst was effectively recovered and reused several times without important decrease in efficiency. The recovered catalyst was also characterized with TEM analysis to study its stability and durability under applied conditions.