Polymerized methyl imidazole silver bromide (CH3C6H5AgBr)6: Synthesis, crystal structures, and catalytic activity

Abstract

One-pot synthesis of polymerized methyl imidazole silver bromide (CH3C6H5AgBr)6 Compound 1 was carried out by the reaction of methylimidazole, 1,2-dibromoethane, and Ag2O in tetrahydrofuran at 60°C for 2 h. Compound 1 was characterized by elemental analysis, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal cell parameters of Compound 1 are as follows: a = 8.916(4) Å, b = 17.655(9) Å, c = 9.024(4) Å, α = 90°, β = 103.621(7)°, γ = 90°, V = 1380.6(12) Å3, and Z = 4. The silver atoms in Compound 1 are pentacoordinated with three bromine atoms, one silver atom, and one nitrogen atom of methyl imidazole, and polymeric methyl imidazole silver bromide was formed based on this structure. The catalytic effects under optimized conditions were investigated in this study, and the results showed that Compound 1 possesses a strong catalytic effect on the oxidation of 2-methylnaphthalene with a conversion rate of 77.15% by using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant at 80°C for 3 h. The catalytic mechanism was explored simultaneously.

Keywords

• polymerized silver bromide
• imidazole
• c–h bonds
• 2-methylnaphthalene