Chloromethylated polystyrene immobilized ruthenium complex of 2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazole catalyst for the synthesis of bioactive disubstituted ureas by carbonylation reaction

Abstract

Polymer supported transition metal complex catalysts have numerous applications as heterogeneous catalysts due to their ease of synthesis and commercial availability. Ru–Py–Merf was synthesized by anchoring 2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazole to the polymer matrix, followed by loading of ruthenium salt. This Ru–Py–Merf material was thoroughly characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, FE-SEM analysis, EDAX analysis, CHN analysis, AAS spectroscopy and TGA. Ru–Py–Merf showed excellent catalytic activity in the synthesis of symmetric and asymmetric disubstituted ureas by reductive carbonylation of nitrobenzenes and anilines. The as-synthesized Ru–Py–Merf catalyst is entirely heterogeneous in nature, thermally stable and can be easily reused up to six times.