A novel dinuclear Cu(OAc)2-anchored SBA-15 catalyst was synthesized by simple proton exchange of a carboxyl functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 silica with Cu(OAc)2 in water. XAFS and EPR spectra were utilized to probe its structure. Such a Cu(II) solid material exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction in water without addition of either reductant or base.
