Insights into the promising heterogeneous catalysis of eco-friendly synthesized spinel CuFe2O4 nanoparticles for Biginelli reaction

Abstract

Spinel copper ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (CuFe₂O₄ MNPs) are one of the prominent spinel ferrites due to their magnetic properties. As a result of the current investigation, the magnetic spinel copper ferrite nanoparticles (CuFe₂O₄ MNPs) were successfully fabricated via a green synthesis approach using freshly prepared Yogurt of cow milk as a capping agent by sol–gel auto-combustion route and its catalytic effect towards synthesizing ethyl 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-2-oxo-4-aryl pyrimidine-5-carboxylate (DHPMs) scaffold was explored. Further, the phase formation, crystallinity, particle size, grain morphology, and the property of magnetism of bio-fabricated spinel CuFe₂O₄ NPs were explored by XRD, FESEM, EDX, FTIR, UVDRS, and VSM analysis. Furthermore, one-pot synthesis of DHPMs scaffold via multicomponent (MCR) Biginelli reaction was examined using biosynthesized spinel CuFe₂O₄ magnetic heterogeneous catalyst (C1 and C2 nanocrystalline phase). To achieve the high yields (90–98%) of DHPMs scaffold synthesis with an extensive range of aromatic carbaldehyde using minimum loading of heterogeneous catalysts within minimum reaction time and easy catalyst recovery by a peripheral magnet were examined. Therefore, this protocol presents an extensive scope for Biginelli reaction using magnetically separable heterogeneous catalyst synthesis via a green approach.

Graphical abstract