Bovine serum albumin‐silica functionalized γ‐Fe2O3 nanoparticles (BSA‐Si@Fe2O3): A highly efficient and magnetically recoverable heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of substituted pyrrole derivatives

Abstract

The present study used silica functionalized bovine serum albumin as a bio‐support for γ‐Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) to synthesize a magnetically recoverable heterogeneous catalyst (BSA‐Si@Fe2O3). The structure of the catalyst was well established by various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscope/Energy Dispersive X‐ray (SEM/EDX), elemental mapping, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Thermogravimetric (TG), Powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD), X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) analyses. The catalyst also possesses magnetic properties as shown by Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). The strong acidic properties of the catalyst was calculated using potentiometric titration showing Ei value in the range of 0 < Ei < 100 mV. The catalyst was found to be highly efficient for the synthesis of pyrroles affording high yield (87%–94%) in short reaction time period under environmentally feasible reaction conditions (high atom economy and low E‐factor). The BSA‐Si@Fe2O3 could be recycled up to six cycles with insignificant loss in catalytic potential.