Investigation of Catalytic Activity of Pillared-layer Ni (II) Metal-Organic Framework Derived NiO Nanoparticles for Aromatization of Hantzsch 1,4-Dihydropyridines

The pillared-layer metal-organic framework of Ni2(BTEC)(bipy)3.3DMF.2H2O  (BTEC = 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylate; bipy = 4,4́-bipydine; DMF =N,Ń-dimethylformamide) was prepared, characterized and used as a precursor for preparation of NiO nanoparticles. The morphology and structure of NiO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR and EDX techniques.  It was found that the synthesized   MOF and NiO nanoparticles catalyze the aromatization of 4-substituted Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridines (R= Ph, Me, H) with 100% conversion and 100% selectivity toward the desired products.