Waste glass tablets Cu(0)NP-doped: an easily recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of propargylamines and nitrophenol reduction

Abstract

The development of a greener, more efficient, and economically attractive synthetic methodology is one of the challenging tasks for the sustainable progress of organic synthesis. In recent years, considerable effort has been carried out in search of more sustainable catalysts that aims to minimize the generation of waste through the use of easily recyclable material. Glass waste is an accessible and abundant resource but suffers with challenges in the recycling and disposal process; therefore, its reuse as a support for the growth of metallic nanoparticles is extremely attractive from an environmental as well as economic point of view. Considering this, herein we report the synthesis and characterization of glass waste tablets used for the self-support of metallic copper nanoparticles. The synthetic utility of this new material was explored as a catalyst for the A3 coupling reaction and access to biologically useful propargylamines as well as for the reduction of nitrophenol. Furthermore, due to the catalyst format, it was easily recovered using simple tweezers and reused without a significant loss of catalytic efficiency. In fact, the solvent-free approach, atom economy, ease of recycling, robustness, and efficiency make these tablets useful and environmentally suitable catalysts for A3 coupling and the reduction of nitrophenols.