Magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles functionalized with citric acid as a green nanocatalyst for one-pot three-component sonochemical synthesis of substituted 3-pyrrolin-2-ones

Abstract

A clean, convenient and facile approach for one-pot ultrasonic assisted synthesis of substituted 3-pyrrolin-2-ones from diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, aniline and aldehyde derivatives is described. The reactions were carried out in the presence of an efficient, green and reusable acidic nanocatalyst, magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles functionalized with citric acid (CoFe2O4@CA), with high yields under mild conditions. Also, use of ultrasound irradiation made this approach an attractive protocol for the synthesis of these products. The method has been successful in achieving the green chemistry objective. An energy efficient protocol using ultrasound irradiation instead of conventional heating or stirring and use of ethanol as a non-hazardous, inexpensive and green solvent in the one-step reaction against sequential reaction steps thus combining the features of both economic and environmental advantages. In this research, magnetic cobalt ferrite nanoparticles functionalized with citric acid (CoFe2O4@CA) catalyzed synthesis of substituted 3-pyrrolin-2-ones under ultrasonic irradiation via a practical and environmentally benign one-pot three-component protocol.