fe3o4-chitosan nanoparticles as a robust magnetic catalyst for efficient synthesis of 5-substituted hydantoins using zinc cyanide

in this paper, fe3o4-chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by the immobilization of chitosan on the surface of fe3o4 nanoparticles. then, the 5-substituted hydantoins were synthesized from the condensation of aldehyde derivatives, ammonium carbonate and zinc cyanide as a well-known cyanating agent by the magnetic fe3o4-chitosan nanoparticles under neat conditions. fe3o4-chitosan nanocatalyst as a renewable hybrid catalyst was easily recovered by an external magnet and reused for 4 times without obvious drop in its catalytic activity. the purpose of this research was to provide an easy method for the synthesis of 5-substituted hydantoins in high yields and short reaction times by a robust and magnetic recoverable catalyst.