The In/SBA-15 catalyst with a mesoporous structure was synthesized by one-step impregnating the SBA-15 support with metallic In dissolved in hot paraffin. During aqueous Barbier reaction between benzaldehyde and allyl bromide, the as-prepared In/SBA-15 [w(In)＝13%] exhibited much higher catalytic activity than the unsupported In particle catalyst, whereas their selectivity was similar to each other. The yield of 1-phenylbut-3-en-1-ol over In/SBA-15 with the In mass loading of 13% reached 89.2%. The high catalytic activity of the In/SBA-15 could be attributed to the high dispersion of the In active sites and the ordered mesoporous structure which may facilitate the diffusion of the reactant molecules. Meanwhile, the strong interaction between the In metal and the SBA-15 may also stabilize the In active sites, showing a good potential in practical application.

Key words: In/SBA-15, Barbier reaction, mesoporous structure, aqueous media