Aluminium-based ionic liquid grafted on biochar as a heterogeneous catalyst for the selective synthesis of tetrazole and 2,3-dihydroquinazolin 4(1H)-one derivatives

Abstract

2,3-Dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one and tetrazole are a class of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds that play an important role in drug design and are an important part of many biological and industrial compounds. In this study, aluminium-based ionic liquid grafted onto a biochar surface (BC/[TESPMI]AlCl4) was synthesized and used as a catalyst for the synthesis of a series of biological derivatives including 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones in ethanol at reflux conditions and tetrazoles in PEG-400 at 110 °C. All products were obtained with good selectivity and yield of 90 to 97%. The catalyst was thoroughly characterized using various techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), inductively coupled plasm (ICP), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which confirmed the successful chemical grafting. This methodology has several advantages, including shorter reaction time, high yield of product, and recyclability of the catalyst. The catalyst remained active for five reaction cycles.