Polyvinyl amine coated Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic microspheres for Knoevenagel condensation

Polyvinyl amine coated Fe3O4@SiO2 composite microspheres with a core-shell structure were prepared and employed as a magnetic catalyst for Knoevenagel condensation under mild conditions. The catalyst can be readily recovered using a magnet and reused several times without loss in activity or selectivity. The performance of the magnetic base catalyst was compared with that of polyvinyl amine functionalized mesoporous SBA-15, which showed that the magnetic nanoparticles gave improved reaction rate and yield. (C) 2014, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.