OICC Press Iranian Journal of Catalysis 2345-4865 8 4 2024 02 03 Synthesis of dihydrofurans using biosynthesized CuO nanoparticles EN Javad Safaei-Ghomi Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, Kashan, P.O. Box 87317-51167, I. R. Iran 0000-0002-9837-4478 Hossein Shahbazi-Alavi Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, 51167 Kashan, I. R. Iran. Journal Article 2024 02 03 The preparation of trans-dihydrofurans has been achieved by a one-pot condensation reaction of 4-bromophenacyl bromide, aromatic aldehydes and 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione using biosynthesized CuO nanoparticles under reflux conditions in ethanol. CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were prepared using extractof leaves of Ajuga chamaecistus Subsp. Scoparia. The key advantages of this process are the diastereoselective synthesis, reusability of the catalyst, low catalyst loading, excellent yields, short reaction times, simple workup and environmentally benign. Fully optimized structures of trans and cis dihydrofurans were obtained by B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method. The structures of the prepared trans-2,3-dihydrofurans were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectra, IR spectra, and elemental analysis.