Disproportionation route to monodispersed copper nanoparticles for the catalytic synthesis of propargylamines

By taking advantage of the coordination between a monovalent Cu+ precursor and trioctylphosphine, monodisperse Cu nanoparticles were synthesized via a disproportionation reaction. A Cu@SiO2 nanocatalyst was formed by supporting Cu nanoparticles onto a silica aerogel, which showed a high surface area (779.53 m(2) g(-1)) and excellent catalytic activity for the synthesis of propargylamines.