Supported copper on a diamide–diacid-bridged PMO: an efficient hybrid catalyst for the cascade oxidation of benzyl alcohols/Knoevenagel condensation

In this study, a novel periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) containing diamide–diacid bridges was conveniently prepared using ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride to support Cu(ii) species and affording supramolecular Cu@EDTAD-PMO nanoparticles efficiently. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results confirmed the successful synthesis of Cu@EDTAD-PMO. The stabilized Cu(ii) nanoparticles inside the mesochannels of the new PMO provided appropriate sites for selective oxidation of different benzyl alcohol derivatives to their corresponding benzaldehydes and subsequent Knoevenagel condensation with malononitrile. Therefore, Cu@EDTAD-PMO can be considered as a multifunctional heterogeneous catalyst, which is prepared easily through a green procedure and demonstrates appropriate stability with almost no leaching of the Cu(ii) nanoparticles into the reaction medium, and easy recovery through simple filtration. The recycled Cu@EDTAD-PMO was reused up to five times without significant loss of its catalytic activity. The stability, recoverability, and reusability of the designed heterogeneous catalyst were also studied under various reaction conditions.