Fe3O4@B-MCM-41: A new magnetically recoverable nanostructured catalyst for the synthesis of polyhydroquinolines

Boron modified MCM-41 with magnetite core (Fe3O4@B-MCM-41) as a new magnetically recoverable heterogeneous catalyst was prepared and characterized by SEM, TEM, BET, XRD, VSM and FT-IR techniques. The catalytic activity of Fe3O4@B-MCM-41 was investigated in the four-component reaction of aldehyde, dimedone, active methylene compounds and ammonium acetate for the synthesis of poly-hydroquinolines. According to optimization and characterization results the catalyst with Si:B:Fe3O4 mole composition of 40:4:1 has the best activity. The catalyst could be recovered easily by external magnet and has excellent reusability many times without significant decrease of activity. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.