The preparation of novel organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous organosilica containing pyridinedicarboxamide functional groups uniformly distributed inside the nanostructured pore walls has been addressed. The mesoporosity and uniformity of the synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by different techniques such as nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Additionally, the presence of the pyridinedicarboxamide in the pore walls of the nanomaterials was assessed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), as well as 29Si and 13C solid-state cross-polarization and magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (CP/MAS-NMR). The Knoevenagel condensation of aldehydes with active methylene compounds was carried out over the pyridinedicarboxamide functionalized mesoporous organosilica, which has been proven to be an efficient heterogeneous basic catalyst in the presence of ethanol as solvent. The catalytic activity of the investigated materials was investigated in the Knoevenagel condensation between malononitrile and several benzaldehyde derivatives exhibiting a high conversion (>90%) and excellent selectivity toward the final condensation products under very mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, the catalyst stability is noteworthy as it could be recycled and reused at least twelve times without any significant change in the performance.
Keywords: Knoevenagel condensation; base catalysts; periodic mesoporous organosilica; pyridine carboxamide.