Design of an efficient magnetic brush solid acid and its catalytic use in organic reactions

• Published in: Scientific reports 2025-01, Vol.15 (1), p.2828-21, Article 2828
• Main Authors: Mobaraki, Akbar, Hajibeygi, Mohsen, Moradi, Hesam, Pirasteh, Mahdi, Takallou, Ahmad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/638; 639/638/224; 639/638/403; 639/638/77; Acetic acid; Acetonitrile; Acids; Biginelli; Brush solid acid; Catalysts; Design; Esterification; Fluorides; Green chemistry; Heterogeneous catalyst; Humanities and Social Sciences; Hydrophobicity; Iron oxides; Magnetite; multidisciplinary; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Octyl acetate; Organic loading; Polyethylene glycol; Polymerization; Polymers; Quantum dots; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Strecker; Sulfonic acid
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-86027-6

In this research, with the Green Chemistry approach, to load more sulfonic acid active sites on catalyst surfaces, a nanocomposite material based on core-shell magnetite coated with vinyl silane and a sulfonated polymeric brush-like structure is designed and synthesized as a new class of efficient solid acid catalysts, referred to as Fe 3 O 4 @VS-APS brush solid acid. The synthesized catalyst was comprehensively characterized by a range of instrumental techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM, FT-IR, EDX, TGA, and VSM. The activity of the catalyst was evaluated in Biginelli, Strecker, and esterification reactions. The Fe 3 O 4 @VS-APS brush solid acid has special features, such as easy reusability when a simple magnet is used for four reaction runs, an appropriate balance between hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties on the catalyst surface, and effective catalytic performance in the production of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-one(thione) derivatives, 2-phenyl-2-(phenylamino)acetonitrile and octyl acetate.