Pumice-modified cellulose fiber: An environmentally benign solid state hybrid catalytic system for the synthesis of 2,4,5-triarylimidazole derivatives

In this study, we developed an instrumental hybrid catalytic system comprising cellulose fiber and volcanic pumice powder, which was applied as a suitable organic-inorganic hybrid catalyst for the synthesis of 2,4,5-triarylimidazole derivatives. High reaction yields (97%) were obtained in short reaction times (20 min) using this catalytic system. In physical terms, the high porosity of pumice provides an extremely high active surface area for electronic interactions among the components. Moreover, the most distinctive properties of this catalytic system are high biodegradability, simple separation of the catalyst, and good reusability. The natural pumice can be recovered easily using an external magnet and reused with no significant decline in the catalytic activity. The structural characteristics of this efficient catalytic system were assessed using various analytical methods.