The
modulated hydrothermal (MHT) synthesis of an active and selective
Hf-MOF-808 material for the
N
-alkylation reaction
of aniline with benzyl alcohol under base-free mild reaction conditions
is reported. Through kinetic experiments and isotopically labeled
NMR spectroscopy studies, we have demonstrated that the reaction mechanism
occurs via borrowing hydrogen (BH) pathway, in which the alcohol dehydrogenation
is the limiting step. The high concentration of defective −OH
groups generated on the metallic nodes through MHT synthesis enhances
the alcohol activation, while the unsaturated Hf
4+
, which
acts as a Lewis acid site, is able to borrow the hydrogen from the
methylene position of benzyl alcohol. This fact makes this material
at least 14 times more active for the
N
-alkylation
reaction than the material obtained via solvothermal synthesis. The
methodology described in this work could be applied to a wide range
of aniline and benzyl alcohol derivates, showing in all cases high
selectivity toward the corresponding
N
-benzylaniline
product. Finally, Hf-MOF-808, which acts as a true heterogeneous catalyst,
can be reused in at least four consecutive runs without any activity
loss.