Silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles functionalized cobalt complex: a recyclable and efficient catalyst for the C−C bond formation

In this study, the Co-based catalyst was prepared by cobalt immobilization on the surface of functionalized silica-coated magnetic NPs (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-CT-Co) as a magnetically core–shell nanocatalyst and characterized by FT-IR, TGA, XRD, VSM, SEM, TEM, EDX, EDX mapping, and ICP techniques and appraised in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction under mild reaction conditions. The results displayed the superparamagnetic behavior of the Fe₃O₄ NPs core encapsulated by SiO₂ shell, and the size of the particles was estimated about 30 nm. Compared with the previously reported catalysts, the engineered Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-CT-Co catalyst provided perfect catalytic performance for the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction in water as a green solvent and it was much cheaper in the comparison with the traditional Pd-based catalysts. Importantly, the durability of magnetic nanocatalyst was studied and observed that it is stable under the reaction conditions and could be easily reused for at least six successive cycles without any significant decrease in its catalytic activity.

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