Facile synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicate nanoparticles for the selective production of N-benzylidenaniline in a solvent-free reaction of aniline with benzyl alcohol

Abstract

Herein we report a simple method for the synthesis of mesoporous aluminosilicate nanoparticles (∼20 nm) by adopting a novel solvent-free physical mixing method, using TPABr as a precursor for the structure directing agent. The samples are characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR and N₂ adsorption–desorption studies. The materials exhibited novel catalytic properties towards solvent-free N-alkylation of aniline with benzyl alcohol for the selective production of N-benzylidenaniline (100% selectivity) under mild reaction conditions (100 °C and atmospheric pressure), thus providing economical and environmentally benign processes for the synthesis and reaction applications of the AlSi nano-materials.