Modification of poly(vinyl chloride) with pendant metal complex for catalytic applications

Poly(vinyl chloride) was modified to develop an alternative support for the preparation of polymer-supported catalysts. Commercially available poly(vinyl chloride) was synthetically modified to a polymer containing pendant primary amino groups. The Schiff-base of salicylaldehyde and the amino polymer were prepared and were used as the ligands in the synthesis of a polymer-supported copper complex. The polymer-supported ligand and catalysts were characterized by various physical methods. The polymer with the pendant copper complex was able to catalyze the one-pot three-component Mannich reaction between aldehydes, ketones and anilines under mild and environmentally friendly conditions. The catalyst can be recovered by simple filtration and is reusable.