Hierarchically porous AlPO-5-based microspheres as heterogeneous catalysts for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles via [3+2] cycloaddition

The research on the heterogeneous catalytic synthesis of tetrazoles has attracted great attention. In this paper, a tungsten atom-containing AlPO-5 microporous molecular sieve (termed as WAlPO-5) was designed and synthesized by the incorporation of tungsten atoms into the AlPO-5 skeleton with triethylamine as a structure template from pseudoboehmite, H3PO4 and tungstophosphoric acid. The incorporation of tungsten atoms into the AlPO-5 skeleton has been demonstrated by systematic characterizations. WAlPO-5 can be used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles by [3+2] cycloaddition from nitriles and sodium azide. As a novel heterogeneous catalyst, WAlPO-5 exhibits a high catalytic activity, a superior cycling stability and an excellent substrate applicability. The significant advantages of WAlPO-5, such as the simple procedure and the mild reaction conditions and as an alternative to those corrosive, hazardous and polluting homogeneous catalysts, warrant its potential application in industrial processes.