Au anchored to (α-Fe2O3)-MCM-41-HS as a novel magnetic nanocatalyst for water-medium and solvent-free alkyne hydration

• The (α-Fe2O3)-MCM-41-HS-Au prepared as a novel catalytic system
• High loading of Au NPs on the surface of magnetic MCM-41 as a green catalyst
• The catalyst was easily recovered with external magnetic field.
• A green approach for alkyne hydration in water-medium and solvent-free condition
• The catalytic could be reused for six times without any obvious loss of activity.

A novel catalytic system based on Au nanoparticle functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica was prepared as (α-Fe2O3)-MCM-41-HS-Au. This material was obtained through the reaction of ordered mesoporous silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (α-Fe2O3)-MCM-41, (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and HAuCl4. This catalyst was extensively characterized by various techniques such as SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX, IR and N2-sorption isotherm. Very uniform dispersion and ordered mesopores of (α-Fe2O3)-MCM-41-SH (about 2–3 nm) causes Au nanoparticles to be distributed very finely on the pore surfaces, resulting in a very useful and robust magnetically recyclable catalyst for water-medium and solvent-free alkyne hydration.

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