Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) as an efficient catalyst for selective oxidation of benzylic and allylic C-H bonds to carbonyl compounds with tert-butyl hydroperoxide

Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were prepared by a co-precipitation method with oleic acid as a surfactant and characterized by FT-IR, TEM, DLS, XRD, VSM techniques. XRD, DLS and TEM analysis of this catalyst clearly showed the formation of cubic structure Fe3O4 MNPs, with a mean size of 16 nm. Moreover, a magnetization measurement revealed that the Fe3O4 MNPs had superparamagnetic behaviour and the saturation magnetization of the catalyst was 54.6 emu g(-1). The Fe3O4 MNPs in combination with tert-butyl hydroperoxide catalyzed the oxidation of various benzylic and allylic C-H bonds to the corresponding carbonyl compounds in excellent yields. These oxidation reactions were effectively and economically performed under mild conditions, and therefore the dual challenge of cost effectiveness and benign nature of the processes was met.