Abstract

The tendency in recent decades is to develop environmentally friendly heterogeneous catalytic systems for organic transformations. In particular, chemical reactions cooperatively promoted by solid acid-base bifunctional catalysts with good dispersion of active sites and high catalytic performances have aroused much attention. In this review, recent advances in preparation and application of solid acid-base bifunctional catalysts for organic transformations are described, and special emphasis is paid to understand the catalytic mechanisms of the acid-base bifunctionality. Furthermore, strategies for well positioning acidic sites and basic sites to cohabitation and cooperation are briefly discussed.

Keywords: Organic transformation, heterogeneous catalysis, acid-base bifunctional catalyst, cooperative reaction, cascade reaction.