Highly active natural
pandanus-extracted cellulose-supported poly(hydroxamic
acid)–Cu(II) complex
4
was synthesized. The surface
of pandanus cellulose was modified through graft copolymerization
using purified methyl acrylate as a monomer. Then, copolymer methyl
acrylate was converted into a bidentate chelating ligand poly(hydroxamic
acid) via a Loosen rearrangement in the presence of an aqueous solution
of hydroxylamine. Finally, copper species were incorporated into poly(hydroxamic
acid) via the adsorption process. Cu(II) complex
4
was
fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission
scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX),
transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma
optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), thermogravimetric analysis
(TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
(XPS) analyses. The cellulose-supported Cu(II) complex
4
was successfully applied (0.005 mol %) to the Ullmann etherification
of aryl, benzyl halides, and phenacyl bromide with a number of aromatic
phenols to provide the corresponding ethers with excellent yield [benzyl
halide (70–99%); aryl halide (20–90%)]. Cu(II) complex
4
showed high stability and was easily recovered from the
reaction mixture. It could be reused up to seven times without loss
of its original catalytic activity. Therefore, Cu(II) complex
4
can be commercially utilized for the preparation of various
ethers, and this synthetic technique could be a part in the synthesis
of natural products and medicinal compounds.