An Efficient Nanocatalyst with Special Magnetic Properties for the Sustainable Production of Biological Heterocycles: Implications for Health and Pharmaceutical Applications

A major challenge in sustainable organic synthesis is the design of durable, reusable, and effective heterogeneous catalysts. Magnetic porous catalysts are a promising solution that not only possess catalytic activity but also can be readily recovered. In this work, a multifunctional Fe3O4@COF-SO3H catalyst was designed and synthesized using the combination of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles, porous COF structure, and acidic sulfonic groups. This catalyst can provide the simultaneous improvements of accessibility, recyclability, and catalytic efficiency. FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, TGA, EDX, and VSM techniques have been used to thoroughly characterize the catalyst. Fe3O4@COF-SO3H was demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst for the multicomponent synthesis of pyrano and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives under mild reaction conditions. The protocol offers a large selection of products with favorable yields (90–98%), and a convenient reaction time (7–25 min) using only 6 mg of catalyst. The catalyst is also very recyclable, and little loss of activity after 8 consecutive recycling. Fe3O4@COF-SO3H is a suitable platform for the sustainable synthesis of biologically relevant heterocycles, due to the magnetic separation, accessible acidic sites, and porous framework.