Design of multifaceted acidic 1,3-disulfoimidazolium chlorometallate ionic systems as heterogeneous catalysts for the preparation of β-amino carbonyl compounds

•A new class of acidic 1,3-disulfoimidazoliumchlorometallate ionic solid system is prepared.•All three materials are characterized by various analytical techniques such as NMR, elemental analysis, UV–vis, FT-IR, Raman, TGA, SEM-EDX etc.•Metal anion speciation regarding the structure is further confirmed by electronic spectra.•Calculated band gap energies prove these materials as better semiconductors.•Suitable to catalyze as heterogeneous acid catalyst for the synthesis of β–amino carbonyl compounds.

A new series of 1,3-disulfoimidazolium transition metal chloride systems: [Dsim]2[ZnCl4], [Dsim][FeCl4] and [Dsim]2[NiCl4] were synthesized as Brönsted–Lewis acidic solid material and characterized via NMR, FT-IR, Raman, TGA, SEM, EDX, Powder XRD, UV–visible, ICP-OES and elemental analysis. Semiconductor properties of these materials were studied through electronic spectroscopy. The Brönsted acidity of these systems was determined from Hammett plot. All these three materials were successfully tested as reusable catalyst for the one pot three component Mannich-type syntheses of β-amino carbonyl compounds within considerable time frame.

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