Ce(III) immobilised on aminated epichlorohydrin-activated agarose matrix - green and efficient catalyst for transamidation of carboxamides

The present study reports the preparation and characterisation of Ce(III) immobilised on an aminated epichlorohydrin-activated agarose matrix (CAEA) as a green catalyst. The catalyst was synthesised by the reaction of the epichlorohydrin-activated agarose matrix with ammonia solution, which was then treated with Ce(NO3)(3)center dot 6H(2)O. The catalyst (CAEA) was characterised by FT-IR, far IR, CHN, XRD, TGA, and ICP techniques. CAEA is shown to be an effective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the transamidation of carboxamides with amines under solvent-free conditions. The catalyst was successfully applied to the synthesis of a wide range of aromatic and aliphatic amides. High efficiency, mild reaction conditions, easy work-up, simple separation and also reusability are important advantages of this catalyst. (C) 2015 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences