The first report on the eco-friendly synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles in PEG catalyzed by Cu(II) immobilized on Fe3O4@SiO2@L-arginine as a novel, recyclable and non-corrosive catalyst

Cu(II) immobilized on Fe3O4@SiO2@L-aginine as a novel, inexpensive and non-corrosive nanostructured compound catalyzed the cycloaddition reaction of various organic nitriles with sodium azide. This combination leads to obtain a series of 5-substituted-1H-tetrazoles under mild reaction conditions in polyethylene glycol (PEG). The structure of the catalyst was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Ease of operation, high efficiency, low cost, recovery, and reusability for four continuous cycles are the noteworthy features of the currently employed heterogeneous catalytic system.