A highly porous metal-organic framework (MOF-143) was synthesized from the reaction of Cu(NO₃)₂.3H₂O and 4,4?,4??-benzene-1,3,5-triyl tribenzoic acid (H₃BTB), and was characterized by various techniques, including PXRD, SEM, TEM, and FT-IR. MOF-143 was used as an efficient recyclable catalyst for the Ullmann-type coupling reaction of phenol with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde to form 4-formyldiphenyl ether. The solid catalyst could be reused several times without significant decrease in catalytic activity.