Immobilization of polyethylene glycol substituted 1-methylimidazolium bromide on the surface of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles led to the synthesis of powerful and recyclable heterogeneous phase-transfer catalysts which were successfully used for the one-pot three-component condensation of aryl aldehydes, malononitrile and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, to afford the corresponding 2-amino-3- cyano-4H-pyrans. The catalysts can be readily recovered by simple magnetic decantation, and they can be reused several times with no considerable loss in their activity.
Keywords: Phase-transfer catalysis, magnetic nanoparticles, Fe3O4-PEG-ImBr, one-pot synthesis, 2-Amino-3-cyano-4Hpyrans, green chemistry.