Background: In this study, the synthesis and characterization of a novel kind of NiO-supported CuO nanoparticles (CuO/NiO nanocatalyst), as an efficient and recyclable catalyst, were carried out.
Methods: Nanocatalyst was characterized by XRD, BET, FESEM, EDS, HRTEM, TGA and DSC analysis. It was used in the three-component synthesis reaction between barbituric acid, malononitrile and various aromatic aldehydes for the synthesis of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinone derivatives.
Results: The advantages of using CuO/NiO nanocatalyst in this reaction are high yields of products, a decrease in the reaction times and easy separation of catalyst from the reaction mixture, and the reaction being performed in one-pot.
Conclusion: The CuO/NiO nanocatalyst can be recycled for five consecutive cycles without significant degradation in its catalytic activity.
Keywords: CuO-NiO nanocatalyst, pyrano[2, 3-d]pyrimidinone, three-component reactions, aldehyde, malononitrile, one-pot synthesis.