Abstract

Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) supported on ZnO are highly active and selective heterogeneous catalyst for the N-arylation of cyclic and acyclic amides (Golberg coupling). The reaction conditions are mild, featuring K3PO4 as a base and N,N’-dimethylethylendiamine (DMEDA) as ligand in refluxing acetonitrile. The CuNPs/ZnO catalyst can be recovered and reused in six cycles with only little loss of activity. The methodology can be successfully scaled up to gram scale without decreasing the catalytic activity.