Environmentally Sustainable Magnetic Solid Sulfonic Acid: An Efficient and Reusable Catalyst for the Pechmann Reaction

An environmentally benign sulfonic acid nanocomposite based on Fe3O4@SiO2 core-shell magnetic nanoparticles, Fe3O4@SiO2@Et-PhSO3H, was prepared and the acidity and utility of the catalyst were explored for the synthesis of a diverse range of coumarin derivatives under solvent-free conditions. The catalyst shows potential for scale up in the synthesis of coumarins with high purity and was easily separated by using an external magnet. The recovered catalyst was reused in seven cycles without any significant loss of activity.