Cerium Immobilized Carbon Nitride: A Proficient and Recyclable Catalyst to Construct Carbon-Carbon Double Bonds in Water

Cerium immobilized graphitic carbon nitride (Ce-GCN) was prepared to construct carbon-carbon double bonds from heteroaromatic/homoaromatic/aliphatic carbonyl compounds and melononitriles. The catalyst was prepared using the method of co-precipitation and characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Upon utilization of the catalyst thus prepared, the reaction proceeded well in water, a green solvent at ambient temperature. The catalytic efficiency revealed good performance toward reusability.