Cu-metal-organic framework supported on chitosan for efficient condensation of aromatic aldehydes and malononitrile.

In this study, a novel copper-based metal-organic framework (Cu-MOF)-immobilized modified chitosan (CS-CA), CS-CA/Cu-MOF, has been constructed easily and applied as an extremely efficient and economic mesoporous catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation between aromatic aldehydes with malononitrile under mild reaction conditions. The resultant catalyst is characterized via various techniques including FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDX, TEM, BET and STA analyses. The CS-CA/Cu-MOF was reused eight times without a noteworthy decrease in the catalytic activity. The use of CS-CA/Cu-MOF results in outstanding catalytic activity, high recyclability, very short reaction time at 25 °C, and an easy work-up process for the Knoevenagel condensation.