Heterointerface-Engineered α-MnO 2 /Cu-MOF Nanocomposite for Accelerated and Sustainable Biaryl Formation via the Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling Reaction

In this work, we report the development of the α-MnO2/Cu-MOF nanocomposite, a metal-oxide-functionalized metal–organic framework composite material. Initially, α-MnO2 nanorods were synthesized via a solvothermal approach, which acted as the nucleation center for the synthesis of Cu-MOF directly on its surface to attain the nanocomposite material. The as-synthesized material was characterized by various techniques such as FT-IR, PXRD, TGA, FESEM, EDX, ICP-OES, HRTEM, XPS, and BET analysis. The nanocomposite was used as a catalytic system for the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of aryl boronic acids with different aryl halides under relaxed reaction conditions in an aqueous medium to produce corresponding biphenyl derivatives in good to excellent yields. The α-MnO2/Cu-MOF nanocomposite-catalyzed reaction process has several noteworthy features, such as low catalyst loading, excellent yield of biaryl moieties, broad substrate scope including challenging halides like aryl chlorides and aryl fluorides, shorter reaction time, and green reaction medium (H2O). This work also highlights the enhanced thermal and chemical stability of the nanocomposite as compared to its individual components, which clearly demonstrates the synergistic interaction of the NPs and the MOF. This work provides a heterogeneous, durable, and highly efficient catalyst that is pertinent for organic transformations.