Heterogeneous copper catalysts for synthetic purposes: building new simple bifunctional materials

Highly dispersed copper oxide on silica reveals to be an effective acidic catalyst for the epoxide alcoholysis. The combination of acidic properties and hydrogenation activity when used in its reduced form makes the same catalyst an excellent system for the one-pot one-step O-alkylation of aromatic ketones and for the intramolecular cyclisation of gamma-unsatured ketones into ethers.