A New Type of Magnetically-Recoverable Heteropolyacid Nanocatalyst Supported on Zirconia-Encapsulated Fe3O4 Nanoparticles as a Stable and Strong Solid Acid for Multicomponent Reactions

Abstract

A novel highly efficient magnetically retrievable catalyst was developed by the immobilization of H3PW12O40 (20–60 wt%) on the surface of zirconia-encapsulated Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The prepared HPW supported on nano-Fe3O4@ZrO2 heterogeneous acid catalyst (or n-Fe3O4@ZrO2/HPW) was fully characterized by several physicochemical techniques such as: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry and thermogravimetric analysis. The FT-IR spectroscopic data revealed that H3PW12O40 molecules on the nano-Fe3O4@ZrO2 support existed in the Keggin structure. The acidity of the catalyst was measured by the help of a potentiometric titration with n-butylamine. It was surprising that this very strong solid acid catalyst exhibited an excellent acid strength which was as a result of possessing a higher number of surface active sites compared to its homogeneous analogues. The catalytic activity of the as-prepared novel nano-Fe3O4@ZrO2/HPW was explored through the one-pot three-component synthesis of different 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones (i.e. Biginelli reaction) and 1,4-dihydropyridines (i.e. Hantzsh reaction) under solvent free condition. The sample of 40 wt% showed higher acidity and activity in the catalytic transformation. After the reaction, the catalyst/product isolation could be easily achieved with an external magnetic field and the catalyst could be easily recycled for at least five times without any decrease in its high catalytic activity. The excellent recyclability was attributed to the strong interaction between the hydroxyl groups of the nano-Fe3O4@ZrO2 support and the HPW species.