Study of the versatility of CuBTC@IL-derived materials for heterogeneous catalysis

Abstract

The versatility of CuBTC (or HKUST-1) MOF materials to be functionalized to tune their catalytic activity performance was evaluated. The MOFs were functionalized with ionic liquids (ILs) to give rise to catalysts able to adsorb CO₂ and react with epoxides to produce carbonates. The materials are active for this reaction and show good conversion rates at 100 °C and 7 bar CO₂, confirming their ability to fix this gas and transform it into valuable products. In addition, the MOF@IL composite material 1 can be functionalized to give rise to a bimetallic catalyst, taking advantage of the N-heterocyclic carbene present in the imidazolium-based ILs. Therefore, the material was reacted with palladium dichloride, yielding CuBTC@IL-(NHC)Pd (1Pd) which has been tested for homocoupling of alkynes and imination of benzyl alcohol reactions. The recyclability of the catalysts has been studied and hot filtration tests have been made.