Ligand-free copper(I) oxide nanoparticle-catalysed amination of aryl halides in ionic liquids

In the following, we present a simple and feasible methodology for a C-N coupling reaction using nanoscale Cu2O catalysts incorporated in n-Bu4POAc ionic liquid media. It is shown that a wide range of amines and aryl halides can be coupled selectively in high yields, without the use of ligands or additives (bases) and without precautions against water or air. All catalyses can be carried out with a nanoparticle catalyst loading as low as 5 mol%, based on the used precursor.