1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi‘an 710065, China
2. Unibestpharma Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 201210, China
With the rapid development of nanotechnology, copper nanoparticles have shown a broad application prospect in organic synthesis due to their unique physical and chemical properties, such as high activity, large specific surface area and good selectivity. This review discusses the application of new copper nanomaterials in various types of organic reactions, including multicomponent “one pot” reaction for the synthesis of drug active molecules, acetylene azide cycloaddition reaction for the synthesis of triazole and tetrazole derivatives, selective oxidation of alcohols, reduction of nitro groups, C—X (C, N, O) coupling reactions (C—C coupling includes Mizoroki-Heck, SuzukiMiyaura, Glaser-Hay and other coupling reactions; C—N and C—O coupling reactions include Chan-Lam, Buchwald-Hartwig, Ullmann, Goldberg, etc). Most copper nanoparticles catalytic reactions have the advantages of simple operation, mild reaction conditions, high catalytic efficiency, good tolerance of functional groups, low cost, clean reaction system and reusable copper catalyst. These applications of copper nanoparticles in organic synthesis will have an important impact on methodology of organic synthesis and promote the further development of organic copper chemistry.