Nickel−Copper bimetallic mesoporous nanoparticles: As an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for N‐alkylation of amines with alcohols

A bimetallic catalyst (Ni/Cu‐MCM‐41) is prepared via co‐condensation method. The latter is characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR), X‐ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. Catalytic performance of Ni/Cu‐MCM‐41 is probed in N ‐alkylation of amines with alcohols through a hydrogen autotransfer process. Noteworthy, this catalytic system appears very efficient for synthesis of a range of secondary and tertiary amines in good to excellent isolated yields. Moreover, the catalyst is successfully recovered and reused four times without notable decrease in its activity.