A highly reactive and magnetic recyclable catalyst based on silver nanoparticles supported on ferrite for N-monoalkylation of amines with alcohols

Fe3O4@SiO2-Ag catalyst was found to be highly active and selective in the N-alkylation of amines with a variety of aromatic and linear alcohols. The heterogeneous nature of the Fe3O4@SiO2-Ag catalyst allows easy recovery and regeneration by applying an external magnet for six subsequent reaction cycles. The prepared catalyst was characterized using electron microscopy techniques, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometry and atomic absorption spectroscopy.