HKUST-1 Metal Organic Framework as an Efficient Dual-Function Catalyst: Aziridination and One-Pot Ring-Opening Transformation for Formation of β-Aryl Sulfonamides with C–C, C–N, C–S, and C–O Bonds

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are extensively used in catalysis due to their robust structure, well-defined periodic reaction centers, and high porosity. We report Cu3(BTC)2·(H2O)3 (HKUST-1) as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for aziridination of alkene and ring-opening reaction of activated aziridines. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the transfer of a nitrogen group from PhINTs to olefins and its analogue to give aziridines takes place at the coordinatively unsaturated Cu(II) site of Cu3(BTC)2–MOF; however, the ring opening of activated aziridines is controlled by the Cu(II) Lewis acid site, and generation of coordinative unsaturation by thermal activation of the MOF is not necessarily important. The key advantage of this catalytic approach is the direct formation of C–C, C–N, C–O, and C–S bonds yielding β-aryl sulfonamide derivatives through a simultaneous aziridination ring-opening reaction of the alkene in one pot using a single catalyst.