Immobilization of nickel on Kryptofix 222 modified Fe3O4@PEG core-shell nanosphere for the clean synthesis of 2-Aryl-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones

The development of green-based nanostructures is extremely compelling for their implementation in the catalytic arena. In this study, a new type of magnetically core-shell nanocomposite was successfully designed to be used as a green catalyst for the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones under ultrasonic irradiation. Initially, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticle (NP) cores were fabricated via the co-operation method and subsequently coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG). After that, the macro-bicyclic Kryptofix 222 (KP222) functionalized on the surface of Fe3O4@PEG for graft and stabilization of nickel metal. The obtained Ni@KP222/Fe3O4@PEG nanocomposite was characterized by FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared), wide-angle XRD (X-ray Powder Difraction), FESEM (Field Emiossion Scanning Electron Microscopy), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), VSM (Vibrating-Sample Magnetometer), TGA-DTA (Thermogravimetrtic Analysis- Differential Thermal Analysis), DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering), and BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) spectroscopy and technique. The findings indicated that high-affinity KP222 ligand in the stabilization of Ni2+ and ultrasound irradiation catalyzed synergistically the formation of the 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones. The benzaldehydes with electron-withdrawing and electron donor groups could react well with the amino benzamide under ultrasound irradiation in 5 min, indicating that the reaction was not sensitive to the electronic effects. Furthermore, the reusability test for the Ni@KP222/Fe3O4@PEG catalyst revealed successful recyclability for six runs. The current study provided a rational design and synthesis of multifunctional catalysts for catalytic applications.

Automated summary

In this study, a new type of magnetically core-shell nanocomposite was designed and successfully used as a green catalyst for the synthesis of 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones under ultrasonic irradiation. The catalyst showed good stability and recyclability.