A new copper-based metal-organic framework as a promising heterogeneous catalyst for chemo- and regio-selective enamination of β-ketoesters.

Assembly of 5-nitro-1,2,3-benzenetricarboxylic acid (H3nbta) with Cu(II) in the presence of 1,3-bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propane (1,3-btp) leads to a new metal-organic framework, [Cu(Hnbta)(1,3-btp)]·2H2O (A1), which is shown to be an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for enamination of β-ketoesters with excellent product yields and selectivity.