Modified nano magnetic Fe2O3-MgO as a high active multifunctional heterogeneous catalyst for environmentally beneficial carbon-carbon synthesis

Ehsan Kamali; Fahim Dreekvandy; Abolfazl Mohammadkhani; Akbar Heydari

doi:10.1186/s13065-024-01176-5

Modified nano magnetic Fe₂O₃-MgO as a high active multifunctional heterogeneous catalyst for environmentally beneficial carbon-carbon synthesis

BMC Chem. 2024 Apr 20;18(1):78. doi: 10.1186/s13065-024-01176-5.

Authors

Ehsan Kamali¹, Fahim Dreekvandy¹, Abolfazl Mohammadkhani¹, Akbar Heydari²

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Department, Tarbiat Modares University, PO Box: 14155-4838, Tehran, Iran.
² Chemistry Department, Tarbiat Modares University, PO Box: 14155-4838, Tehran, Iran. Heydar_a@modares.ac.ir.

Abstract

In this study, novel nanomagnetic catalysts, namely Fe₂O₃-MgO@choline formate (Ch. F.) and Fe₂O₃-MgO@choline cyanide (Ch. CN), were synthesized through immobilizing choline-based ion liquids to magnetic support via a simple and cost-effective methodology. FT-IR, TGA, FE-SEM, VSM, EDS, BET, and XRD techniques were employed to assess and characterize these organic-inorganic compounds. Following the successful preparation of nanoparticles, the catalysts were utilized in Knoevenagel and benzoin condensations. Fe₂O₃-MgO@Ch.F. exhibited exceptional activity in Knoevenagel condensation under solvent-free conditions at room temperature, achieving high yields (91-98%) in a short timeframe. Similarly, Fe₂O₃-MgO@Ch.CN demonstrated remarkable activity in benzoin condensation under environmentally friendly solvent conditions, yielding higher isolated yields (76-88%). Furthermore, these magnetically recyclable multifunctional catalysts displayed the ability to be reused up to five times without a significant loss in efficiency. Additionally, the heterogeneity of this nanocatalyst was investigated using the hot filtration technique. The findings indicated that the reaction primarily occurs via a heterogeneous pathway.

Keywords: Choline cyanide; Choline formate; Knoevenagel and Benzoin condensations; Multifunctional catalysts; Nanomagnetic heterogeneous catalyst.