A magnetic nanoparticle-supported sulfuric acid as a highly efficient and reusable catalyst for rapid synthesis of amidoalkyl naphthols

•MNP-SO3H was prepared and amidoalkyl naphthol was synthesized using this catalyst.•Sulfuric acid functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, VSM, and SEM.•The catalyst was separated by an external magnet and reused as such for the next experiment.

Sulfuric acid functionalized magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MNPs-SO3H) efficiently catalyze one-pot multicomponent condensation of β-naphthol with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and amide derivatives under solvent-free conditions to afford the corresponding amidoalkyl naphthols in excellent yields and in very short reaction times. High catalytic activity and ease of recovery using an external magnetic field are additional eco-friendly attributes of this catalytic system.

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