An efficient, economical and eco-friendly acylation of alcohols and amines by alum doped nanopolyaniline under solvent free condition

We report acylation of alcohols and amines employing acetic acid as an acylating agent in solvent free condition by using alum doped nanopolyaniline (NDPANI) as a catalyst. This environmentally benign method does not use corrosive acid anhydrides and acid chlorides for acylation and does not produce waste product. Also, a non-toxic potash alum was used for doping of polyaniline rather than corrosive acids. The reaction conditions represent an advance over established method not only in omitting the need for expensive catalysts or solvents but also in shortening the reaction time significantly. The advantages of this catalyst are non-hazardous, cheap, reusable, easy to prepare and handling.