Copper-modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles as a highly efficient photocatalyst for the synthesis of furan-3-carboxylate derivatives.

A heterogeneous photocatalyst based on copper-modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles has been prepared and characterized. Copper-modified nano-titanium dioxide (Nano-TiO₂@CuO) is an efficient photocatalyst for the synthesis of furan-3-carboxylate derivatives through a radical addition-polar cyclization of β-ketoester derivatives and allyl chloride under the irradiation of blue light. Copper-modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles 20% which show titanium dioxide-copper cooperativity show a significantly better performance with respect to turnover numbers (number of product molecules per catalyst molecule = efficiency). The Nano-TiO₂@CuO catalyst is stable and can be reused multiple times without a significant change in activity. The particle sizes varied in the range of 25-80 nm. High yields of product, environmentally friendly, cost-effective method, and easy work-up are advantages of the present method. All synthesized compounds were characterized by NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy.