Iron oxide encapsulated by copper-apatite: an efficient magnetic nanocatalyst for N-arylation of imidazole with boronic acid

Abstract

N-Arylation of imidazole was carried out with various arylboronic acids on iron oxide encapsulated by copper-apatite (Fe₃O₄@Cu-apatite), producing excellent yields. Firstly, the iron nanoparticles were prepared using a solvothermal method, and then they were encapsulated by copper-apatite to obtain magnetic Fe₃O₄@Cu-apatite nanocatalysts. Several physico-chemical analysis techniques were used to characterize the prepared nanostructured Fe₃O₄@Cu-apatite catalyst. The prepared Fe₃O₄@Cu-apatite was used as a nanocatalyst for N-arylation of imidazole with a series of arylboronic acids with different substituents to reaffirm the effectiveness of this magnetic nanocatalyst. The Fe₃O₄@Cu-apatite nanocatalyst can also be easily separated from the reaction mixture using an external magnet. More importantly, the as-prepared Fe₃O₄@Cu-apatite exhibited good reusability and stability properties in successive cycles. However, there was a notable loss of its catalytic activity after multiple cycles.