Imidazolium-based organoiridium-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica boosts enantioselective reduction of α-cyanoacetophenones, α-nitroacetophenones, and β-ketoesters

• A chiral organoiridium-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica is constructed.
• Heterogeneous catalyst boosts enantioselective reduction of α-cyanoacetophenones, α-nitroacetophenones, and β-ketoesters.
• Imidazolium phase-transfer function and hydrophobic periodic mesoporous organosilica promote the catalytic performance.
• We offer a general approach to immobilize a homogeneous chiral complex onto a periodic mesoporous organosilica.

An imidazolium-based, organoiridium-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica is developed through complexation of chiral pentafluorophenylsulfonyl-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine and organoiridium-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica. Structural analyses and characterizations of catalyst reveal well-defined single-site iridium active species within its organosilicate network. Electron microscopy confirms a highly ordered dimensional-hexagonal mesostructure. This bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst displays excellent catalytic performance in the enantioselective reduction of α-cyano and α-nitroacetophenones. As expected, incorporation of imidazolium-functionality within hydrophobic periodic mesoporous organosilica promotes catalytic activity and enantioselectivity. In addition, this heterogeneous catalyst can be recovered and reused for at least eight times without loss of its catalytic activity. Furthermore, the approach described here can also construct another organoiridium-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilica through postcoordination of chiral methylsulfonyl-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine, which provides excellent catalytic activity and enantioselectivity in the enantioselective reduction of β-ketoesters. The method presented here offers a potential way for immobilizing various chiral ligands to construct chiral organometal-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilicas.

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