Cu(II) complex-decorated hybrid nanomaterial: a retrievable catalyst for green synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones

The significant stability of magnetic core and - OH functional groups on the surface of silica-coated cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4@SiO2) nanoparticles make it a good candidate for functionalization and catalytic application. In this work, a surface-modified magnetic solid support with Cu(II) complex was prepared. The structure of the new nanostructure was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), the electron-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP/OES) techniques. The catalytic activity of the prepared hybrid nanomaterial was evaluated in the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones and high yields of desired products were obtained with green media. Some advantages of this method are high yields, short reaction times, green solvent and conditions, easy workup procedure, negligible copper leaching, reusability without a significant diminish in catalytic efficiency and simple separation of nanocatalyst by using an external magnet alongside the environmental compatibility and sustainability.