Abstract

In recent years, mesoporous silica materials with controllable structure, tunable porosity and high surface area have been widely studied with regard to applications as excellent adsorbents and heterogeneous catalysts. SBA-15 is among the most attractive mesoporous silicas due to its adjustable pores and thick pore walls. Grafting various organic compounds on the surface of SBA-15 can improve the catalytic activity of silica surface. In this regard, SBA-15 has been functionalized with amine groups to create a promising candidate in catalysis of various kinds of organic reactions. Amino-functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 (SBA-Pr-NH2) has been found to be useful for base-catalyzed reactions. SBA-Pr-NH2 exhibits efficient catalytic activity as a heterogeneous reusable green catalyst in organic transformations. This catalyst can be easily removed from the reaction mixture by simple filtration, recovered and reused without significant loss of activity. This overview covers the recent achievements in the application of amino-functionalized SBA-15 as a green catalyst.

Keywords: Mesoporous materials, nano catalysts, amine-functionalized SBA-15, organic reactions.

Graphical Abstract