Integration of aqueous biphasic with magnetically recyclable systems: Polyethylene glycol-grafted Fe3O4 nanoparticles catalyzed phenacyl synthesis in water

• Synthesis and fully characterization of PEG@SiO2@Fe3O4 nanoparticles
• Performance of the catalysts was evaluated in the synthesis of phenacyl derivatives.
• Facile work-up procedure, short reaction times, good to high yields of the products
• The catalyst is recyclable and stable under the reaction conditions.

The present work trends to define an efficient phenacyl catalytic synthesis method employing a new nano-magnetite-supported organocatalyst. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was bonded successfully onto silica coated ferrite and the resultant nanoparticles (PEG@SiO2@Fe3O4) characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) that exhibited a good catalytic activity in the reaction. The nanoparticles could be easily separated from the reaction mixture by an external magnet and reused in seven reaction cycles without significant loss of activity.

PEG-grated Fe3O4 catalyzed nucleophilic reaction of α-bromoacetophenone derivativesFigure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide