N-Benzylation of primary amines using magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles functionalized with hexamethylenetetramine as an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst

Abstract

Herein we report, a new, simple and mild procedure for N-benzylation and N,N-dibenzylation of anilines through the reaction of aniline derivatives and benzyl bromide at 60 °C in EtOH in the presence of catalytic amounts of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles functionalized with hexamethylenetetramine (Fe3O4@SiO2@Propyl-HMTA). The title compounds were formed in high purity and their structures characterized by spectral analysis. The results also showed that the magnetic nanoparticle catalyst had significant advantages including, simplicity of preparation, heterogeneity, stability and recyclability. Moreover, the catalyst was characterized by various methods, such as FT-IR, SEM, VSM, TEM, TGA and XRD, after the reaction to compare with its structure before reaction.