Synthesis of CuI-modified thiol-functionalized MCM-41 silica-based materials and their catalytic tetralin performance

A novel loaded copper ion catalyst, Cu/MCM-41-SH, was synthesized using CuI-modified thiol-functionalized MCM-41 silica-based materials, and the prepared catalysts were characterized by XPS, FT-IR, SEM and N₂ adsorption–desorption techniques. The XPS results indicated that the chemical valence of the copper that adsorbed on the CuI/MCM-41-SH surface was + 1 valence. N₂ adsorption–desorption showed that the adsorption–desorption isotherms of both MCM-41 and CuI/MCM-41-SH materials were type IV with H4-type hysteresis loops, and the pore size and specific surface area of the materials were reduced. This work demonstrates that that when the reaction time was 2 h, the reaction temperature was 80 ℃ and the catalyst dosage was 100 mg, the conversion of tetralin was obtained as 92.63% and the selectivity of α-tetralone was 84.84%. The catalyst showed good reusability in the three recovery experiments. These results show that the catalyst has potential applications for green and sustainable development.