Supported Cu(II)-Schiff base: novel heterogeneous catalyst with extremely high activity for eco-friendly, one-pot and multi-component C-S bond-forming reaction toward a wide range of thioethers as biologically active cores.

An effective and proficient process for the synthesis of a variety of thioethers via the one-step reaction of benzyl halides, aryl halides, and thiourea is presented. This strategy is a one-pot procedure to achieve a variety of thioethers without the requirement to thiols as starting compounds. A range of thioethers containing electron donating/electron-withdrawing functional groups were obtained with good to excellent yields under mild conditions. Moreover, the nanocatalyst exhibited excellent recyclability for the reaction, making it more sustainable. One-pot and multi-component synthesis, high yields of final products, green reaction media, high activity of nanocatalyst, simple separation of the products and catalyst, and high regioselectivity are several highlights of this method.