Heterogeneous Iron Catalyst Fe/SBA-15 towards sp3 C-O bond activation in the absence of base and additive

A heterogeneous iron-catalyzed (8wt%Fe/SBA-15) mediated direct alkylation of benzyl alcohol with aryl boronic acid in the absence of base and additive via C-O bond activation is demonstrated. This catalyst system led to an efficient Friedel-crafts alkylation reaction. The acidic site in the catalyst system had been confirmed by NH3-TPD, which shows the presence of three different acidic sites viz., weak, moderated, and strong acid sites. The catalyst showed five times recyclable ability.