A mild protocol for the development of an innovative green heterogeneous catalyst for the Hilbert-Johnson reaction

Abstract

Recently, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has attracted great attention among the most promising materials in heterogeneous catalysis. Herein, we describe an application of ammonium iodide-coated g-C₃N₄ (NH₄I@g-C₃N₄) as a new and sustainable heterogeneous catalyst for the selective N1-alkylation of pyrimidines. Structural, morphological, and spectroscopic analyses of NH₄I@g-C₃N₄ were carried out through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), ultra-violet visible spectroscopy (UV-visible) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The obtained results prove that the NH₄I@g-C₃N₄ is well prepared. Moreover, it was applied as an efficient catalyst in the synthesis of nucleoside analogs through the N1-alkylation reaction of pyrimidine nucleobases. Several alkylating agents were tested with various parameters to achieve excellent selectivity and high yields. This novel eco-friendly catalyst showed a catalytic activity and good selectivity in the synthesis of nucleoside analogs without noticeable changes in the morphology.