An imidazolium based ionic liquid supported on Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for N-formylation of amines

An imidazolium based ionic liquid, 1-methyl-3-(3-triethoxysilylpropyl) imidazolium chloride, could be immobilized on the surface of silica-coated ferrite nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2-IL) and could be evaluated as a recyclable catalyst for the N-formylation of amines using formic acid under solvent-free conditions. The prepared organic-inorganic hybrid material could be characterized by various techniques such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) studies. Utilizing the ferromagnetic nature of Fe3O4, the prepared catalyst could be easily recovered after completion of the reaction by using an external magnetic field. The catalyst could be reused for up to five runs with remarkable catalytic activity. The described methodology has various advantages when compared with other methods that rely on homogeneous catalysts.