A Cu-conjugated microporous polymer catalyst (CMP-Cu) was designed and prepared via Sonogashira-Hagihara cross-coupling of 3,8-dibromo-1,10-phenanthroline with 1,3,5-triethyny benzene in toluene. The CMP-Cu showed a catalytic activity for direct carboxylation of terminal alkynes with CO2 in the presence of K2CO3/Cs2CO3 at mild conditions. Several propiolic acids (such as 3-phenylpropiolic acid, 3-(4-nitrophenyl)propiolic acid and 4,4-dimethyl-2-pentynoic acid) have been prepared in a simple and feasible method at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. This catalyst is attractive for CO2 transformation.

A series of four 3-acyl-5-hydroxybenzofuran derivatives (4a-4d) were synthesized by one-pot method under microwave irradiation from aldehydes, dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMFA) and benzoquinone in high yields. These compounds were characterized by IR, NMR and ESI-MS, which were also tested for in vitro anti-proliferative activity against human breast cancer ER(+)-MCF-7 and ER(-)-MDA-MB-231 cell lines. The bioactive compound 4d exhibited the best anti-breast cancer activity against MCF-7 cells with the IC50 values of 43.08 μM. The compound might be used as a potential anti-tumor agent for the further structure modifications and development.