A highly porous metal–organic frame work Cu3 BTC2 (copper(II)-benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate) that is known as MOF-199 was synthesized from the reaction of 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid and Cu(OAc)2·H2O by a solvothermal method and characterized by several techniques including FT-IR, XRD, EDX and scanning electron microscopy. The MOF-199 used as an efficient catalyst for one-pot synthesis of thiols by domino reactions of aryl halides and thiourea, and subsequently conversion to aryl alkyl sulfides and diaryl disulfides in polyethylene glycols (PEGs). A variety of aryl alkyl sulfides can be obtained in good to excellent yields in a relatively short reaction time and in the presence of the trace amount of catalyst. Also, the catalyst can be separated from the reaction mixture by decanting, and be reused without significant degradation in catalytic activity.
