Facile and rapid decoration of graphene oxide with copper double salt, oxides and metallic copper as catalysts in oxidation and coupling reactions

We present a new facile and rapid microwave-assisted method to synthesize four different copper nanocompounds on the surface of graphene oxide (GO). By starting from a mixture of copper nitrate and GO, copper hydroxy nitrate double salt (DS) (Cu-2(OH)(3)(NO3)), copper (II) and copper (I) oxides and metallic copper (Cu-0) were synthesized and supported simultaneously. The catalytic performance of the four copper/GO nanohybrids as well as some unsupported particles in some common organic reactions has been checked. The studied materials present a high versatility in C-C, C-N, and C-S couplings as well as in catalytic selective oxidation reactions. The performance of DS/GO as an heterogeneous catalyst is presented for the first time and shows the highest activity among all the copper/GO nanohybrid studied systems. The results open up the possibility of a more thorough study of the catalytic performance of the supported copper double salt in other different catalytic and consecutive processes of organic synthesis. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.