Monodisperse amorphous CuB23 alloy short nanotubes: novel efficient catalysts for Heck coupling of inactivated alkyl halides and alkenes

Heck-type coupling of inactivated alkyl halides and alkenes, catalyzed by amorphous CuB23 alloy short nanotubes, has been developed. Such couplings occur on the surfaces of nanotubes via a single-electron oxidative reaction. The results indicate that CuB23 nanotubes are efficient catalysts to replace Pd and Ni complexes for such Heck-type coupling.