Modified Montmorillonite clay catalyzed regioselective ring opening of epoxide with amines and alcohols under solvent free conditions

• Octahedral alumina leaches out due to acid treatment on Montmorillonite.
• Acid treatment destroys layer structure to generate micro and mesopores.
• Modified clay exhibits efficient activity for epoxide ring opening by amines and alcohols.
• Better selectivity shown at ambient temperature without solvent.
• Catalyst is reusable without significant loss in activity and selectivity.

Modification of Montmorillonite by acid treatment depletes the layered structure and generates micro- and mesopores. The catalytic activity of naturally occurring Montmorillonite clay modified by acid treatment is reported for the reactions of epoxides with nucleophiles such as amines and alcohols at ambient temperature and solvent-free condition. The solid acid catalyst of the present study is reusable and exhibits significantly higher catalytic activities than known catalysts for the opening of the oxirane ring with nitrogen (aromatic as well as aliphatic amines) and oxygen (aromatic as well as aliphatic alcohols). A wide range of β-amino alcohols and β-alkoxy alcohols are synthesized with high epoxide conversion of excellent regioselectivity. The modified catalyst is recycled up to five times without significant loss in conversion and selectivity.

Acid treatment on naturally occurring Montmorillonite clay generates micro- and mesopores due to leaching of the Aluminium ions from the octahedral positions. This modified Montmorillonite clay is an efficient catalyst for ring opening of epoxide with amines and alcohols at ambient conditions.Figure optionsDownload high-quality image (235 K)Download as PowerPoint slide