Laser-driven heterogeneous catalysis: efficient amide formation catalysed by Au/SiO2 systems

A proof of concept of laser-assisted heterogeneously catalysed processes at room temperature using silica supported gold nanoparticles is reported. Au/SiO2 nanoparticles were laser-irradiated at 532 nm (SPR maximum absorbance) to catalyse the selected reaction, namely the production of 4-benzoylmorpholine from benzaldehyde and morpholine via amide formation, for which quantitative yields to the target amide were obtained after 3-5 h of reaction. The protocol could also be extended to a tandem oxidation/amidation process which shows the potential of the proposed approach for the promotion of liquid-phase organic reactions at room temperature.