Copper(II) incorporated functionalized polystyrene catalyzed N-arylation of amides under solvent free condition with broad substrate scope

We demonstrate here, a new polystyrene supported Cu(II) catalyzed proficient synthetic methodology for the facile N-arylation of aromatic, aliphatic, cyclic and heterocyclic amides with aryl halides under neat conditions. The catalyst, PS-Cu(II)-ala, was prepared through the grafting of copper metal on a polystyrene-beta-alanine imine network. The catalyst shows a wide range of substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance, and produces the desired anilides in mostly high yields. The material is thoroughly characterized by DRS-UV, FT-IR, AAS, FE-SEM, TGA analysis and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) studies. The catalyst can be easily recovered from the reaction medium and reused without significant loss of its catalytic activity suggesting future potential of this catalyst.