Room temperature solvent free aza-Michael reactions over nano-cage mesoporous materials

An efficient highly acidic three dimensional mesoporous aluminosilicate nano-cage material A1-KIT5, exhibited excellent catalytic activity in solvent free room temperature aza-Michael reactions of amines with alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds to produce beta-amino carbonyl compounds with 100% product selectivity in a short reaction time. The high acidity, 3D pores, and a huge space in the nano-cages materials make them attractive candidate for carrying out important organic reactions. The catalyst provide a simple, easy to handle method, and could be used to solve the problems of corrosion, toxicity, waste production, and a high cost that are being currently encountered by the conventional homogeneous catalysts. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.