3.1. Characterization
3.1.1. FT-IR
The FT-IR analysis of MCM-41, Cu-MCM-41, MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu are shown in Fig. 1. The FT-IR spectra of as-synthesized vibration bands of samples with MCM-41 support, including Si − O−Si asymmetric stretching vibration at 1076–1095 cm− 1, Si − O−Si symmetric stretching vibration at 796–810 cm− 1, and Si − O−Si bending vibration at 460–470 cm− 1 [39] were detected. The broad bands around 3450 cm− 1 are associated to the − OH stretching vibration of the H2O molecule [31], the band around 1630 cm− 1 is associated to the − OH bending vibration from adsorbed water [31].
For MCM-41, the presence of decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) lead to the bands appearing at 2850, and 2920 cm− 1, which are associated to the symmetric and asymmetric stretching of − CH2−, respectively. The band around 3740 cm− 1 is associated to the stretching vibration of − OH from terminal silanol groups (Si-OH), which is invisible after the coordination with cupric ions or condensation of silanol groups with the organic group.
For as-synthesized Cu-MCM-41, The vibration bands at 959–970 cm− 1 are due to the incorporation of metal into the silica framework. This band is due to the stretching vibrations of Si-OH or Si-O-M (M = metal) [39–40], indicating the heteroatom incorporation into the framework of mesoporous materials [41]. This band is weak for parent MCM-41[40].
For as-synthesized MCM-41@Cu, there is a band observed at 958 cm− 1, which corresponds to the vibration of Si-O-Cu+ in the MCM-41@Cu sample. These results suggest that copper species have been effectively applied on the MCM-41 framework.
For the Histidine, the bands at 676–721 cm− 1 are associated to the bending vibration of the sp2 CH group, 1141 cm− 1 is associated to the stretching vibration of CN in the imidazole group, 1411 cm− 1 is associated to symmetric COO group stretching vibration, 1452 cm− 1 is due to symmetric NH bending vibration, 1613 cm− 1 is associated to C=C stretching vibrations, 2034 cm− 1 is associated to Ν−Η stretching vibrations, 3200–3500 cm− 1 are associated to the stretching vibrations of Ο−Η of H2O [42].
For as-synthesized MCM-41@Histidine@Cu, the specific band at 1452 cm− 1 in Histidine is absent in the spectrum of MCM-41@Histidine@Cu, revealing that the binding of Histidine with cupric ions occurred through the amine group [42].
3.1.2. XRD
Figure 2 shows the small-angle XRD (SXRD) patterns calcined MCM-41, Cu-MCM-41, MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu. The X-ray diffraction of MCM-41 shows a strong peak at 2θ = 1.5° corresponding to the reflections of the (100) plane and two weak peaks at 2θ = 3.3°, 3.9° corresponding to the reflections of the (110) and (200) plane, indicating a well-ordered two dimensional hexagonal (p6mm) formation of channels [39, 43]. Therefore, after the introduction of copper species, the structure of the MCM-41 material remains unchanged. However, the intensity is less than pure MCM-41. The reduction of the intensity of the reflections of the (d100) plane (except for MCM-41@Histidine@Cu) and the disappearance of d110 and d200 plane reflections can be attributed to the fall in the ordering of the channels after impregnation the copper particles [39, 44].
The wide-angle XRD (WXRD) analysis of Cu-MCM-41, MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu samples are illustrated in Fig. 3. WXRD analysis of Cu-MCM-41 displays peaks at 2θ = 36.2 and 39.1°, which correspond to monoclinic CuO [45]. The diffraction peak at 2θ = 75.1° can be due to metallic copper species [46]. But these diffraction peaks are absent in MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu samples because of low copper content. In addition, the feature at 2θ = 23° was due to amorphous silica [46].
3.1.3. N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms
Figure 4 depicts the N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms of the Cu-MCM-41, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu samples. All the copper-containing MCM-41 samples display type IV isotherms, which are characteristic of mesoporous materials with 2-dimensional cylindrical channels according to the IUPAC nomenclature [47]. It can be concluded that mesopores of the particles are retained even after functionalization. Textural parameters of the MCM-41, Cu-MCM-41, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu samples are summarized in Table 1. The incorporation of Cu species inside the mesoporous channels reduced textural parameters. As can be seen, a gradual reduction in the surface area of the modified samples was found. In other words, the addition groups block the N2 adsorption by decreasing the available sites. The decrease in pore volume and pore size in comparison with pure MCM-41 is due to the dispersion of copper into the silica walls [31]. The increase in pore size of the Cu-MCM-41 sample in comparison with parent MCM-41 material is due to the higher amount of copper species in the former materials.
3.1.4. TEM, SEM, and EDS
To characterize the array of mesoporous materials, TEM images of Cu-MCM-41 are illustrated in Fig. 5. It can be observed that the Cu-MCM-41 sample exhibits parallel one-dimensional mesoporous channels, indicating copper species does not affect the structure of MCM-41.
The SEM images of Cu-MCM-41, MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu are illustrated in Fig. 6. It can be observed that the particles are spherical with size ranges from 17–42 nm for Cu-MCM-41, 80–118 nm for MCM-41@Cu, and 87–113 nm for MCM-41@Histidine@Cu. The EDS spectra of Cu-MCM-41, MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu confirmed the presence of Cu, O, Si, N atoms in the structure of the catalysts. From EDS spectra, sample synthesized via co-condensation technique (Cu-MCM-41) displays a higher amount of copper in framework compared to samples synthesized via post-functionalization method.
3.2. Catalytic activity
The Cu-functionalized mesoporous MCM-41 samples were tested for the synthesis of 5substituted 1Htetrazoles. To optimize the experimental conditions, 4-chlorobenzonitrile and NaN3 in the presence of the catalyst were selected as trial substrates. The influence of several operating conditions like catalyst content, solvent, the temperature was studied and the results are summarized in Table 2.
3.2.1. Effect of solvent.
The synthesis of 5substituted 1Htetrazoles was performed using different solvents such as DMF, DMSO, acetonitrile, dioxane, toluene, EtOH, EtOH/water, and water. The yield of product was increased in water. The solvent dielectric constant shows an important role in stabilizing the intermediate of the reaction. At a higher dielectric constant of the solvent, the stronger ionic forces stabilize the intermediate of the reaction [41, 48]. Among the solvents, water had the highest dielectric constant (80), after that DMSO (47.2), DMF (38.3), acetonitrile (36.6), EtOH (24.3), and hexane (2.0). The solvent influence can be described according to the extent of the reactants solubility. Sodium azide derivatives are better soluble in water. The overall order of reactivity of all the solvents used in the synthesis of 5substituted 1Htetrazoles using Cu-MCM41 is as follows: water > DMSO > DMF > acetonitrile > EtOH > hexane
3.2.2. Effect of temperature
The product yield decreased with the decline of temperature from 100°C to room temperature. According to the Arrhenius equation, the increase of reaction rate with temperature was expected [40]. For this reaction, the best result was obtained at 80°C.
3.2.3. Effect of amounts of catalyst
The influence of catalyst amounts on the synthesis of 5substituted 1Htetrazoles was studied by using different amounts of the Cu-MCM-41 as the catalyst (30 to 100 mg) at 80°C using water as solvent. From Table 2, the maximum yield was taken when 100 mg of catalyst was utilized. The reason for the maximum yield is a large number of active sites available in the framework of the samples.
3.2.4. Effect of different catalysts
Parent MCM-41 and Cu-functionalized mesoporous MCM-41 samples were tested for the synthesis of 5substituted 1Htetrazoles. Without any metal loading, provided no 1H-tetrazole yield. Cu-MCM-41 provided 77% 1H-tetrazole yield in 15 min. In the case of MCM-41@Cu, 75% 1H-tetrazole yield was provided in 45 min. In the case of MCM-41@Histidine@Cu sample 70% 1H-tetrazole yield was provided in 60 min. The highly dispersed copper ions in the Cu-MCM-41 strongly adsorb the more reactants [41].
Overall, the ideal reaction conditions for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1Htetrazoles were: H2O as the solvent, 100 mg of catalyst at 80°C (Table 1, entry 10). To generalize the scope of the Cu-MCM-41, MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1Htetrazoles, under optimal conditions a series of substituted nitriles were used, and the results are shown in Tables 3, 4 and 5. As these Tables, the favorable product was gained under mild conditions, and in short reaction times, the 1H-tetrazoles were obtained with good yields. Due to highly dispersed copper ions, the Cu-MCM-41 shows better activity for the synthesis of 5substituted 1Htetrazoles in comparison with MCM-41@Cu, and MCM-41@Histidine@Cu samples.