Copper ferrite nanoparticles: an efficient and reusable nanocatalyst for a green one-pot, three-component synthesis of spirooxindoles in water

Recent advances in the application of magnetic nanocatalysts in multicomponent reactions

Recently, the preparation and applications of magnetic nanostructures have attracted increasing attention in nanocatalysis studies, and magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) functionalized catalysts have been applied in important reactions such as Suzuki-Miyaura and Heck couplings. The modified nanocomposites demonstrate significant catalytic efficiency and excellent benefits in the context of catalyst recovery methods. This review discusses the recent modified magnetic nanocomposites in the field of catalytic applications along with the synthetic processes that are usually employed.

Magnetic Nanoparticle-Containing Supports as Carriers of Immobilized Enzymes: Key Factors Influencing the Biocatalyst Performance

In this short review (Perspective), we identify key features of the performance of biocatalysts developed by the immobilization of enzymes on the supports containing magnetic nanoparticles (NPs), analyzing the scientific literature for the last five years. A clear advantage of magnetic supports is their easy separation due to the magnetic attraction between magnetic NPs and an external magnetic field, facilitating the biocatalyst reuse. This allows for savings of materials and energy in the biocatalytic process. Commonly, magnetic NPs are isolated from enzymes either by polymers, silica, or some other protective layer. However, in those cases when iron oxide NPs are in close proximity to the enzyme, the biocatalyst may display a fascinating behavior, allowing for synergy of the performance due to the enzyme-like properties shown in iron oxides. Another important parameter which is discussed in this review is the magnetic support porosity, especially in hierarchical porous supports. In the case of comparatively large pores, which can freely accommodate enzyme molecules without jeopardizing their conformation, the enzyme surface ordering may create an optimal crowding on the support, enhancing the biocatalytic performance. Other factors such as surface-modifying agents or special enzyme reactor designs can be also influential in the performance of magnetic NP based immobilized enzymes.

A comprehensive survey upon diverse and prolific applications of chitosan-based catalytic systems in one-pot multi-component synthesis of heterocyclic rings

Heterocyclic compounds are among the most prestigious and valuable chemical molecules with diverse and magnificent applications in various sciences. Due to the remarkable and numerous properties of the heterocyclic frameworks, the development of efficient and convenient synthetic methods for the preparation of such outstanding compounds is of great importance. Undoubtedly, catalysis has a conspicuous role in modern chemical synthesis and green chemistry. Therefore, when designing a chemical reaction, choosing and or preparing powerful and environmentally benign simple catalysts or complicated catalytic systems for an acceleration of the chemical reaction is a pivotal part of work for synthetic chemists. Chitosan, as a biocompatible and biodegradable pseudo-natural polysaccharide is one of the excellent choices for the preparation of suitable catalytic systems due to its unique properties. In this review paper, every effort has been made to cover all research articles in the field of one-pot synthesis of heterocyclic frameworks in the presence of chitosan-based catalytic systems, which were published roughly by the first quarter of 2020. It is hoped that this review paper can be a little help to synthetic scientists, methodologists, and catalyst designers, both on the laboratory and industrial scales.

Chitosan as capping agent in a robust one-pot procedure for a magnetic catalyst synthesis

Here, we report a one-pot solvothermal method for the development of magnetically recoverable catalysts with Ru or Ag nanoparticles (NPs) capped by chitosan (CS), a derivative of natural chitin. The formation of iron oxide NPs was carried out in situ in the presence of CS and iron acetylacetonate in boiling triethyleneglycol (TEG) due to CS solubilization in warm TEG. Coordination with Ru or Ag species and the NP formation take place in the same reaction solution, eliminating intermediate steps. In optimal conditions the method developed allows stabilization of 2.2 nm monodisperse Ru NPs (containing both Ru⁰ and Ru⁴⁺ species) that are evenly distributed through the catalyst, while for Ag NPs, this stabilizing medium is inferior, leading to exceptionally large Ag nanocrystals. Catalytic testing of CS-Ru magnetically recoverable catalysts in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol with excess NaBH₄ revealed that the catalyst with 2.2 nm Ru NPs exhibits the highest catalytic activity compared to samples with larger Ru NPs (2.9-3.2 nm). Moreover, this catalyst displayed extraordinary shelf-life in the aqueous solution (up to ten months) and excellent reusability in ten consecutive reactions with easy magnetic separation at each step which were assigned to its conformational rigidity at a constant pH. These characteristics as well as favorable environmental factors of the catalyst fabrication, make it promising for nitroarene reduction.

3′-Methyl-2-oxo-1′,5′-diphenyl-1′,7′-dihydrospiro[indoline-3,4′-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine]-6′-carboxylic Acid

3′-methyl-2-oxo-1′,5′-diphenyl-1′,7′-dihydrospiro[indoline-3,4′-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine]-6′-carboxylic acid was synthesized using diverse conditions. The best reaction condition consisted of using water as solvent under microwave irradiation, affording product in 76% yield.

Pd Catalyst Based on Hyperbranched Polypyridylphenylene Formed In Situ on Magnetic Silica Allows for Excellent Performance in Suzuki-Miyaura Reaction

Here, for the first time, we developed a catalytic composite by forming a thin layer of a cross-linked hyperbranched pyridylphenylene polymer (PPP) on the surface of mesoporous magnetic silica (Fe₃O₄-SiO₂, MS) followed by complexation with Pd species. The interaction of Pd acetate (PdAc) with pyridine units of the polymer results in the formation of Pd²⁺ complexes which are evenly distributed through the PPP layer. The MS-PPP-PdAc catalyst was tested in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction with four different para-Br-substituted arenes, demonstrating enhanced catalytic properties for substrates containing electron withdrawing groups, and especially, for 4-bromobenzaldehyde. In this case, 100% selectivity and conversion were achieved with TOF of >23 000 h^-1 at a very low Pd loading (0.032 mol %), a remarkable performance in this reaction. We believe these exceptional catalytic properties are due to the hyperbranched polymer architecture, which allows excellent stabilization of catalytic species as well as a favorable space for reacting molecules. Additionally, the magnetic character of the support allows for easy magnetic separation during the catalyst synthesis, purification, and reuse, resulting in energy and materials savings. These factors and excellent reusability of MS-PPP-PdAc in five consecutive uses make this catalyst promising for a variety of catalytic reactions.

Ligand Free One-Pot Synthesis of Pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazoles in Water Extract of Banana Peel (WEB): A Green Chemistry Approach

Here, we have developed a novel, simple, efficient, and green protocol for one-pot synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole using arylidene malononitrile and pyrazolone in Water Extract of Banana Peels (WEB) as a reaction medium at room temperature (r.t.). This is a green and general synthetic protocol without utilization of any toxic organic solvent, ligand, base that could be applicable for the wide substrate scope in good to excellent yields. This protocol has various advantages such as fast reactions, eco-friendly reaction conditions, easy isolation of the product without using column chromatography. The green chemistry matrices calculation like atom economy reaction, environmental factor, as well as process mass intensity indicates the eco-friendly nature of the protocol.

Sonochemically Synthesized Spin-Canted CuFe2O4 Nanoparticles for Heterogeneous Green Catalytic Click Chemistry

Heterogeneous green catalysis by using magnetically separable nanometal-oxide catalysts has become a subject of prime focus recently. PXRD (powder X-ray diffraction), FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy), and HRTEM (high-resolution tunneling electron microscopy) with IR and Raman spectroscopy are applied to analyze the structural and microstructural properties of nanosized (∼15.3 nm) CuFe₂O₄ synthesized by both sonochemical and mechanochemical processes. The sonochemical process provides a better uniformity of sizes of the nanoparticles (NPs). Rietveld refinement with the PXRD pattern reveals the inverse spinel-like architecture of CuFe₂O₄ NPs. The Raman spectra also indicate the phase purity of the synthesized material. The static magnetic measurements are performed at different magnetic fields and temperature ranges from 300 to 5 K, which confirms the existence of the ferrimagnetic phase mixed with some finer superparamagnetic (SPM) nanophases within the sample. Unsaturated magnetization is observed even at an applied 5 T magnetic field for the presence of spin-canting nature in the partially inverted copper ferrite phases at the surfaces of the nanoparticles. Now, these coupled magnetic CuFe₂O₄ NPs are used as a heterogeneous catalyst for three-component Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition click reaction in aqueous media. By this catalyst system, we were able to couple alkyl halide, epoxide, or boronic acid with alkynes efficiently to furnish 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles in excellent yields within very short reaction time. The test for heterogeneity, reusability, and reproducibility of the catalyst has also been performed successfully without prominent decrease in yield up to the fifth cycle.

Catalyst-free four-component domino synthetic approach toward versatile multicyclic spirooxindole pyran scaffolds

A new versatile strategy involving a sequential four-component reaction of the nitroketene dithioacetals, alkylamine/benzylamine, isatin and various enolizable active methylene structures (pyrazolone, barbituric acid, 1,3-indandione and 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone) as precursors under mild and catalyst-free conditions results in the synthesis of new functionalized spirooxindole pyrans named spiro[indoline-3,4′-pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazol], spiro[indoline-3,5′-pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidine], spiro[indeno[1,2-b]pyran-4,3′-indoline] and spiro[benzo[g]chromene-4,3′-indoline] in moderate to good yields. The use of various active methylene compounds affords a range of skeletally distinct spirooxindole-based heterocycles with potential biological properties. The present strategy has many advantages, such as convenient one-pot operation, simple workup procedures and straightforward isolation without using tedious purification steps such as column chromatography, progress under catalyst-free condition and high molecular diversity.

Synthesis of spirooxindole pyrans by a sequential four-component reaction of nitroketene dithioacetals, alkylamine/benzylamine, isatin, and active methylene compounds.

Facile Synthesis of Magnetically Recoverable Pd and Ru Catalysts for 4-Nitrophenol Reduction: Identifying Key Factors

This paper reports the development of robust Pd- and Ru-containing magnetically recoverable catalysts in a one-pot procedure using commercially available, branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) as capping and reducing agent. For both catalytic metals, ∼3 nm nanoparticles (NPs) are stabilized in the PEI shell of magnetite NPs, whose aggregation allows for prompt magnetic separation. The catalyst properties were studied in a model reaction of 4-nitrophenol hydrogenation to 4-aminophenol with NaBH4. A similar catalytic NP size allowed us to decouple the NP size impact on the catalytic performance from other parameters and to follow the influence of the catalytic metal type and amount as well as the PEI amount on the catalytic activity. The best catalytic performances, the 1.2 min-1 rate constant and the 433.2 min-1 turnover frequency, are obtained for the Ru-containing catalyst. This is discussed in terms of stability of Ru hydride facilitating the surface-hydrogen transfer and the presence of Ru4+ species on the Ru NP surface facilitating the nitro group adsorption, both leading to an increased catalyst efficiency. High catalytic activity as well as the high stability of the catalyst performance in five consecutive catalytic cycles after magnetic separation makes this catalyst promising for nitroarene hydrogenation reactions.

Immobilized glucose oxidase on magnetic silica and alumina: Beyond magnetic separation

Here we report immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) on magnetic silica (Fe₃O₄-SiO₂) and alumina (Fe₃O₄-Al₂O₃) functionalized with amino groups using glutaraldehyde as a linker. Magnetic support based biocatalysts demonstrate high catalytic activity in d-glucose oxidation to D-gluconic acid at pH 5-7.5 and temperature of 30-50 °C with the best activities of 95% and 91% for magnetic silica and alumina, respectively. A comparison of magnetic and non-magnetic alumina and silica shows a significant enhancement of the relative catalytic activity for magnetic supports, while the silica based biocatalysts show a higher activity than the biocatalysts based on alumina. A noticeably higher activity of GOx immobilized on magnetic supports is explained by synergy of the GOx inherent activity and enzyme-like activity of iron oxide nanoparticles, while the enhancement with silica based catalysts is most likely due to a larger pore size and stronger Brønsted acid sites. Excellent relative activity of Fe₃O₄-SiO₂-GOx (95% of native GOx) in a tolerant pH and temperature range as well as high stability in a repeated use (6% relative activity loss after five catalytic cycles) makes this catalyst promising for practical applications.

Synthesis of multifunctional CuFe2O4-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite: an efficient magnetically separable catalyst as well as high performance supercapacitor and first-principles calculations of its electronic structures

Here, we report an 'in situ' co-precipitation reduction based synthetic methodology to prepare CuFe2O4 nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide (CuFe2O4-RGO) nanocomposites. First principles calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) were performed to obtain the electronic structures and properties of CuFe2O4, graphene and CuFe2O4-graphene composites, and to understand the interfacial interaction between CuFe2O4 and graphene in the composite. The synergistic effect, which resulted from the combination of the unique properties of RGO and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles, was exploited to design a magnetically separable catalyst and high performance supercapacitor. It has been demonstrated that the incorporation of RGO in the composite enhanced its catalytic properties as well as supercapacitance performance compared with pure CuFe2O4. The nanocomposite with 96 wt% CuFe2O4 and 4 wt% RGO (96CuFe2O4-4RGO) exhibited high catalytic efficiency towards (i) reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol, and (ii) epoxidation of styrene to styrene oxide. For both of these reactions, the catalytic efficiency of 96CuFe2O4-4RGO was significantly higher than that of pure CuFe2O4. The easy magnetic separation of 96CuFe2O4-4RGO from the reaction mixture and good reusability of the recovered catalyst also showed here. 96CuFe2O4-4RGO also demonstrated better supercapacitance performance than pure CuFe2O4. 96CuFe2O4-4RGO showed specific capacitance of 797 F g-1 at a current density of 2 A g-1, along with ∼92% retention for up to 2000 cycles. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first investigation on the catalytic properties of CuFe2O4-RGO towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and the epoxidation reaction, and DFT calculations on the CuFe2O4-graphene composite have been reported.

Graphene Derivative in Magnetically Recoverable Catalyst Determines Catalytic Properties in Transfer Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes to Anilines with 2-Propanol

Here, we report transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes to aminoarenes using 2-propanol as a hydrogen source and Ag-containing magnetically recoverable catalysts based on partially reduced graphene oxide (pRGO) sheets. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data demonstrated that, during the one-pot catalyst synthesis, formation of magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) is accompanied by the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) to pRGO. The formation of Ag⁰ NPs on top of magnetite nanoparticles does not change the pRGO structure. At the same time, the catalyst structure is further modified during the transfer hydrogenation, leading to a noticeable increase of sp² carbons. These carbons are responsible for the adsorption of substrate and intermediates, facilitating a hydrogen transfer from Ag NPs and creating synergy between the components of the catalyst. The nitroarenes with electron withdrawing and electron donating substituents allow for excellent yields of aniline derivatives with high regio and chemoselectivity, indicating that the reaction is not disfavored by these functionalities. The versatility of the catalyst synthetic protocol was demonstrated by a synthesis of an Ru-containing graphene derivative based catalyst, also allowing for efficient transfer hydrogenation. Easy magnetic separation and stable catalyst performance in the transfer hydrogenation make this catalyst promising for future applications.

Copper ferrite nanoparticle modified starch as a highly recoverable catalyst for room temperature click chemistry: multicomponent synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles in water

Highly water dispersible CuFe₂O₄@Starch catalyzed click reaction.

An efficient, room temperature, oxygen radical anion (O2•−) mediated, one-pot, and multicomponent synthesis of spirooxindoles

The present report highlights an efficient use of oxygen radical anion to promote a room temperature multi-component synthesis of spirooxindoles (4a–4l) under mild reaction conditions. The potassium superoxide (KO2) and tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) combination generate the oxygen radical anion in situ to promote this transformation. This method offers a sustainable and direct access to the biologically important spirooxindole derivatives in good to excellent yields.

Enhancing the Catalytic Activity of Zn-Containing Magnetic Oxides in a Methanol Synthesis: Identifying the Key Factors

A new family of Ni-, Co-, and Cr-doped Zn-containing magnetic oxide nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized by polyphenylquinoxaline (PPQ) and hyperbranched pyridylphenylene polymer (PPP) has been developed. These NPs have been synthesized by thermal decomposition of Zn and doping metal acetylacetonates in the reaction solution of preformed magnetite NPs, resulting in single-crystal NPs with spinel structure. For the PPQ-capped NPs, it was demonstrated that all three types of metal species (Fe, Zn, and a doping metal) reside within the same NPs, the surface of which is enriched with Zn and a doping metal, while the deeper layers are enriched with Fe. The Cr-doped NPs at the high Cr loading are an exception due to favored deposition of Cr on magnetite located in the NP depth. The PPP-capped NPs exhibit similar morphology and crystallinity; however, the detailed study of the NP composition was barred due to the high PPP amount retained on the NP surface. The catalyst testing in syngas conversion to methanol demonstrated outstanding catalytic properties of doped Zn-containing magnetic oxides, whose activities are dependent on the doping metal content and on the stabilizing polymer. The PPP stabilization allows for better access to the catalytic species due to the open and rigid polymer architecture and most likely optimized distribution of doping species. Repeat experiments carried out after magnetic separation of catalysts from the reaction mixture showed excellent catalyst stability even after five consecutive catalytic runs.

A PLA–TiO2 particle brush as a novel support for CuNPs: a catalyst for the fast sequential reduction and N-arylation of nitroarenes

One pot synthesis of diarylamines from nitro arenes by sequential reduction and N-arylation.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) promoted as an efficient and recyclable reaction medium for the one-pot eco-friendly synthesis of functionalized isoxazole substituted spirooxindole derivatives

An efficient, inexpensive and environmentally friendly synthesis of novel isoxazole substituted spirooxindole-pyridopyrimidine/indenopyridine/chromenopyridine/naphthyridine/quinoline derivatives has been developed.

Ru-Containing Magnetically Recoverable Catalysts: A Sustainable Pathway from Cellulose to Ethylene and Propylene Glycols

Biomass processing to value-added chemicals and biofuels received considerable attention due to the renewable nature of the precursors. Here, we report the development of Ru-containing magnetically recoverable catalysts for cellulose hydrogenolysis to low alcohols, ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG). The catalysts are synthesized by incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) in mesoporous silica pores followed by formation of 2 nm Ru NPs. The latter are obtained by thermal decomposition of ruthenium acetylacetonate in the pores. The catalysts showed excellent activities and selectivities at 100% cellulose conversion, exceeding those for the commercial Ru/C. High selectivities as well as activities are attributed to the influence of Fe3O4 on the Ru(0)/Ru(4+) NPs. A facile synthetic protocol, easy magnetic separation, and stability of the catalyst performance after magnetic recovery make these catalysts promising for industrial applications.