Facet-dependent catalytic activity of Cu2O nanocrystals in the one-pot synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles by multicomponent click reactions

We report the highly facet-dependent catalytic activity of Cu2O nanocubes, octahedra, and rhombic dodecahedra for the multicomponent direct synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles from the reaction of alkynes, organic halides, and NaN3. The catalytic activities of clean surfactant-removed Cu2O nanocrystals with the same total surface area were compared. Rhombic dodecahedral Cu2O nanocrystals bounded by {110} facets were much more catalytically active than Cu2O octahedra exposing {111} facets, whereas Cu2O nanocubes displayed the slowest catalytic activity. The superior catalytic activity of Cu2O rhombic dodecahedra is attributed to the fully exposed surface Cu atoms on the {110} facet. A large series of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles have been synthesized in excellent yields with high regioselectivity under green conditions by using these rhombic dodecahedral Cu2O catalysts, including the synthesis of rufinamide, an antiepileptic drug, demonstrating the potential of these nanocrystals as promising heterogeneous catalysts for other important coupling reactions.