Selective C–C coupling of terminal alkynes under an air atmosphere without base over Cu–N X –C catalysts

• Published in: New journal of chemistry 2020-12, Vol.44 (48), p.20993-20998
• Main Authors: Xiao, Xinxin, Xu, Yin, Bhavanarushi, Sangepu, Liu, Bin, Lv, Xiaomeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/D0NJ04801A

The fabrication of a silk fibroin-drived porous, in situ nitrogenated carbon skeleton with highly dispersed Cu–N X –C active sites via a sol–gel and pyrolysis treatment was demonstrated. Cu–N X –C was used to catalyze the oxidative homo-coupling of terminal alkynes with excellent functional group tolerance and high yields under an air atmosphere without base and additives. The small amount of catalyst (2 mol%) and suitable recyclability further demonstrated its good activity and stability. The excellent activity of the Cu–N X –C catalyst can be ascribed to its high surface area, porous structure, small size of the highly dispersed Cu–N X –C active sites and graphitic N. A possible mechanism was deduced according to the structural and surface valence analyses of the sample before and after the reaction. The report aims to demonstrate that such a nature-based sustainable catalyst can provide new insights into the design of coupling reaction catalysts with outstanding catalytic C–C coupling performance.