Ionic liquid immobilized onto fibrous nano-silica: A highly active and reusable catalyst for the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-diones

•Ionic liquid immobilized onto fibrous nano-silica was synthesized for the first time.•It was used as a recyclable catalyst for the synthesis quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-diones.•Quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-diones were obtained in high yields.•High catalytic activity and ease of recovery from the reaction mixture using filtration

In this study, a novel fibrous nano-silica (KCC-1) supported ionic liquid (KCC-1/IL) with high surface area and easy accessibility of active sites was successfully developed by a facile approach. The synthesized KCC-1/IL nanocatalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the synthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-diones from CO2 and 2-aminobenzonitriles under mild conditions to the easy accessibility of the active sites. A high catalytic activity and ease of recovery from the reaction mixture by using filtration and several reuses without any significant loss in performance are additional eco-friendly attributes of this catalytic system.

Graphical abstractSynthesis of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones using ionic liquid immobilized onto fibrous nano-silica.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide