A simple and clean methodology for the preparation of ligand grafted mercaptopropyl silanefunctionalized copper (0) nanocluster [LGMPS Cu (0)] has been reported. The catalyst was synthesized by thepost-modification of mercaptopropyl silica with pyridine moiety and finally anchoring of Cu (0) produced by in situ reductions of copper salt which enhanced the stability to copper (0) nanoparticles. The catalyst wasthen characterized with FTIR, XRD, TGA, XPS, EDX, SEM, TEM and AAS. Its application has been studiedfor O-benzylation and O-allylation of phenols and also in one-pot synthesis of β-amino ketones via Mannichreaction. Moreover, the catalyst was recyclable for up to six runs, making it more sustainable. The recycledcatalyst was also characterized using FTIR and TEM which confirmed that the functional groups present inthe catalyst remained intact but the size of the catalyst increased due to agglomeration of nanoclusters afterthe sixth cycle of reusability.

The present work deals with the functionalization of copper (0) nanocluster onto mercaptopropyl silica ligated with 2-bromopyridine and its applications for the C–O and C–N bond-forming reactions.