Cu24O24Si8R8: organic soluble 56-membered copper(I) siloxane cage and its use in homogeneous catalysis

Organic soluble 56-membered copper(I) siloxane cage compound Cu(24)O(24)Si(8)R(8) (1, R = (2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3))N(SiMe(3))) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. It consists of a copper silica-supported structure, in which the metal ions are two-coordinate and covalently anchored onto the cage surface and the weak metal...metal d(10)-d(10) interactions are widely full within the cage, that is active in catalyzing the Ullmann-Goldberg-type C-N coupling reaction involving aryl or 2-thienyl bromides with heterocyclic nitrogen nucleophiles. This work provides insight into homogeneous catalysis utilizing the heterogeneous structure.