Designing of a magnetically separable Fe3O4@dopa@ML nano-catalyst for multiple organic transformations (epoxidation,reduction, and coupling) in aqueous medium

A copper(II) macrocyclic Schiff base complex (ML) was synthesized by condensation between 2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diammine and 2,6-diformyl-4-butylphenol with the aim to modify the surface of widely used magnetically separable nanocatalyst Fe₃O₄@dopa. ML was characterized by physicochemical techniques and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The newly synthesized heterogeneous catalyst Fe₃O₄@dopa@ML was characterized by SEM, TEM, PXRD, EDX, TGA, etc. ML showed stability in aqueous medium and utilizing this unique property, the heterogeneous catalyst Fe₃O₄@dopa@ML was used for catalyzing epoxidation, nitroarene reduction and C–C coupling (Henry reaction) in aqueous medium. The separation method of the prepared nano-catalyst is very easy and can be done with an external magnetic field. The experimental findings suggest that Fe₃O₄@dopa@ML is a versatile “green catalyst.”