Synthesis and characterization of copper nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide as a highly active and recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of formamides and primary amines

We report here the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide supported copper nanoparticles (rGO/Cu NPs) from copper (II) sulfate pentahydrate and graphite precursors using a simple protocol. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The rGO/Cu NPs is proved to be a useful heterogeneous catalyst in Cu-catalyzed formamidation and amination of arylboronic acids. The catalyst can be recovered by simple filtration from the reaction mixture and reused several times without significant loss of catalytic activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.