In Situ Generation of Copper Nanoparticle-Graphitic Carbon Nitride Composite for Stereoselective Transfer Semihydrogenation of Alkynes: Evaluation of Catalytic Activity Using Fluorescence-Based High-Throughput Screening

Abstract

Herein, we present the effective synthesis of a copper nanoparticle-graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) composite for the efficient (Z)-selective transfer semihydrogenation of alkynes. A fluorescence-based high-throughput screening method was applied to identify the most synergistic support for in situ-generated copper nanoparticles. The derived Cu(OAc)(2)/g-C3N4 system exhibited more than five-fold increase in the turnover frequency compared to the copper nanoparticle catalyst in the absence of g-C3N4. Various alkynes were selectively reduced to the corresponding (Z)-alkenes under mild reactions conditions, affording up to 99% isolated yields. The present work demonstrates a simple and cost-effective method for the synthesis of a copper nanoparticle-g-C3N4 composite for the efficient (Z)-selective transfer semihydrogenation of alkynes.