Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) M 2 (BDC) 2 (DABCO), (M=Co, Ni, Cu and Zn, BDC = 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid, and DABCO = 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) have been prepared via a simple and effective strategy by the ball-milling method, with no use of a solvent at room temperature. This method provides a facile, green, solvent-free and low-cost strategy for the preparation of Co, Ni, Cu and Zn based M 2 (BDC) 2 (DABCO) nanoporous particles (NPs) with square lattice structures. The structure and morphology of the MOFs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The catalytic activity of the prepared MOFs was investigated in the acylation reaction of alcohols, amines and aldehydes with acetic anhydride in solvent-free method. The Lewis acid activity of the as-synthesized MOFs was drastically enhanced by microwave irradiation.

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A simple and efficient solvent-free method was developed for the acetylation of alcohols and amines with acetic anhydride in excellent yields employing metal-organic framework Cu 2 (bdc) 2 (dabco) catalyst under microwave irradiation. The salient features of this protocol are the short reaction time, ease of product isolation and reusability of the heterogeneous catalyst.