sulfunic acid modifired mcm-41 mesoporous silica as an efficient nano-catalyst for synthesis of amides and lactams from oximes via beckman rearrangement

Mesoporous mcm-41 silicas anchored with sulfonic acid (–so3h) groups (denoted msn-sa) via postsynthesis modification are very effective for the beckman rearrangement. a simple and convenient procedure for conversion of a variety oximes to their corresponding amides and lactams has been developed. the reaction was carried out in the presence of msn-sa as the catalyst. the best results for conversion of oximes to amides and lactams were obtained in the presence of msn-sa and solvent free condition at 110 ?c. excellent yields were obtained from oximes with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups. the system also worked well with polynuclear aromatic, heterocyclic and aliphatic oximes.