An Efficient and Eco-Friendly Nanocrystalline Zinc Oxide Catalyst for One-Pot, Three Component Synthesis of New Ferrocenyl Aminophosphonic Esters Under Solvent-Free Condition

An eco-friendly catalytic amount (10 mol%) of nanocrystalline ZnO has been explored in the synthesis of new series of ferrocenyl aminophosphonic esters by a three-component reaction of ferrocene carbaldehyde, an amine, and a dialkyl phosphate. The nano ZnO catalyzed the selective synthesis of ferrocenyl aminophosphonates and no intermediate formation of either an imines or alpha-hydroxy phosphonate were observed. This is one of the fundamental aspects in green chemistry for simple experimental and product isolation protocol.