Fabrication of a novel graphene oxide based magnetic nanocomposite and its usage as a highly effectual catalyst for the construction of N,N′-alkylidene bisamides

Abstract

At first, a novel graphene oxide-based magnetic nanocomposite namely Si-propyl-functionalized N¹,N¹,N²,N²-tetramethylethylenediamine-N¹,N²-diium hydrogen sulfate anchored to graphene oxide-supported Fe₃O₄ (nano-[GO@Fe₃O₄@R-NHMe₂][HSO₄]) was fabricated. After full characterization of the nanocomposite, its catalytic performance was examined for the solvent-free construction of N,N′-alkylidene bisamides from aryl aldehydes (1 eq.) and primary aromatic and aliphatic amides (2 eq.), in which the products were acquired in short times (15–30 min) and high to excellent yields (89–98%). Nano-[GO@Fe₃O₄@R-NHMe₂][HSO₄] could be magnetically isolated form the reaction medium, and reused three times without remarkable loss of catalytic activity.