Cu‐UiO‐66 Catalyzed Synthesis of Imines via Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Coupling of Alcohols and Amines.

Herein, the Cu‐UiO‐66 catalyst was developed for acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling (ADC) between alcohols and amines to produce imines. The Cu‐UiO‐66 catalyst was synthesized by installing Cu2+ onto Zr‐oxo clusters in UiO‐66, and the catalyst efficiently catalyzes the ADC reaction under mild and environmentally friendly conditions with excellent selectivity. Mechanistic studies reveal that the O2⋅− radicals and porosity of formed in Cu‐UiO‐66 participate cooperatively during the catalytic cycle. Meanwhile, the only by‐product of the system is environmentally benign water. Cycling tests and hot filtration tests showed that the Cu‐UiO‐66 catalyst exhibited excellent stability and catalytic activity during the reaction. Importantly, the Cu‐UiO‐66 catalyst might provide a promising strategy for the ADC reaction between alcohols and amines to produce imines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]