Nanomagnetite-supported molybdenum oxide (nanocat-Fe-Mo): an efficient green catalyst for multicomponent synthesis of amidoalkyl naphthols

Magnetite (Fe3O4)-supported molybdenum oxide (MoO3) was synthesized from simple starting precursors in aqueous medium. The synthesized nanocat-Fe-Mo was analyzed using several techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM). The catalytic activity of the synthesized nanocat-Fe-Mo was studied in a benign one-pot multicomponent transformation for synthesis of amidoalkyl naphthol derivatives under solvent-free condition using both conventional and microwave irradiation methods. Nanocat-Fe-Mo was found to be highly active and could be reused seven times without notable loss in catalytic activity. The proposed method offers advantages such as good reaction yield (80-95%), short process time, simple workup, and recycling of the catalyst, representing important green chemistry principles. [GRAPHICS] .