Copper(ii) oxide on aluminosilicate mediated Heck coupling of styrene with aryl halides in water

CuO/aluminosilicate has been found to be an efficient catalyst for the aqueous Heck coupling of styrene with aryl halides under ligand free conditions. The catalyst (CuO/aluminosilicate) was prepared from CuCl2·6H2O, aluminium nitrate and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and characterized by XRD, HR-TEM, SEM-EDX and XPS. The reaction conditions were optimized with different solvents, bases, catalyst amounts and temperatures using sytrene and 4-chlorobenzonitrile as a model system. The scope of the reaction was subsequently extended to include various substituted aryl halides. Regioselectivity, heterogeneity and reusability were performed.