Highly ordered mesoporous La(III)-substituted 5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (Glp) immobilized on SBA-15 as a very efficient nanocatalyst for green aerobic oxidative coupling of thiols to disulfides

Selective aerobic oxidative coupling of thiols that are catalyzed by La(III)-substituted 5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (Glp) immobilized on SBA-15 (SBA-15@Glp-La; SBA = Santa Barbara amorphous) was studied. Using SBA-15@Glp-La, the complete conversion was achieved at room temperature in the presence of air without producing any over-oxidized yields. SBA-15@Glp-La was prepared by post-grafting technique. 5-Oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (Glp) condensation followed by La(III) impregnation caused this La(III)-grafted 5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (Glp) to immobilize on SBA-15. This SBA-15@Glp-La catalyst shows excellent catalytic activity in the selective aerobic oxidative coupling of thiols. Effects of amount of the catalyst, polarity of the solvent, effects of substrate, and catalyst reusability were investigated. It has been observed that seven repetitive reaction cycles did not cause any appreciable loss in the catalytic activity of this catalyst. The catalyst characterization by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma, elemental mapping, and N-2 adsorption-desorption is reported. The procedure developed is heterogeneous and environmentally benign.