Research on catalytic application of Fe3O4@AAPA-AP-CuCl2 nanocomposite: First nanomagnetic copper catalyst for preparation of aryl nitriles from aldehydes

Abstract

Nitrile derivatives play an important role in the synthesis of drugs and medicinal compounds; and use to treat diseases such as major depression, generalized anxiety, HIV and mild dementia-related anxiety in non-psychotic patients. In this paper, we found that CuCl2 supported on magnetic nanoparticles modified with 3-amino-2-(aminomethyl)propanoic acid and acylpyrrole [Fe3O4@AAPA-AP-CuCl2] is an ecofriendly and highly efficient catalyst for the preparation of nitriles from aldehydes under mild conditions. Based on our research, it is the first report on the utilization of magnetic copper nanocatalysts for the preparation of aryl nitriles from aldehydes (through radical-type cleavage of coordinated cyanide anion process). The structure of Fe3O4@AAPA-AP-CuCl2 nanocomposite was fully confirmed by many spectroscopic techniques. The Fe3O4@AAPA-AP-CuCl2 catalyst showed high activity and could be recovered and reused 7 times without significant loss in catalytic activity and selectivity. The advantages of this system can be mentioned: performing the reaction in environmentally friendly solvent, easy separation of the catalyst, high reusability, synthesis of products with high yields, providing NMR for all products.