Development and functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles as powerful and green catalysts for organic synthesis

Magnetic nanoparticles are a highly worthy reactant for the correlation of homogeneous inorganic and organic containing catalysts. This review deals with the very recent main advances in the development of various nano catalytic systems by the immobilization of homogeneous catalysts onto magnetic nanoparticles. Catalytic fields include the use of mainly cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc ferrites, as well as their mixed-metal combinations with Cr, Cd, Mn and sometimes some lanthanides. The ferrite nanomaterials are obtained mainly by co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods, sometimes by the sonochemical technique, micro emulsion and flame spray synthesis route. Catalytic processes with application of ferrite nanoparticles include degradation (in particular photocatalytic), reactions of dehydrogenation, oxidation, alkylation, C-C coupling, among other processes. Ferrite nano catalysts can be easily recovered from reaction systems and reused up to several runs almost without loss of catalytic activity. Finally, we draw conclusions and present a futurity outlook for the further development of new catalytic systems which are immobilized onto magnetic nanoparticles.