Imidazole Functionalized Magnetic Fe3O4 Nanoparticles a Highly Efficient and Reusable Brønsted Acid Catalyst for the Regioselective Thiocyanation of Aromatic and Heteroaromatic Compounds at Room Temperature in Water:Ethanol

The Magnetically recoverable Fe3O4 nanoparticle and the supported brønsted acidic ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl) imidazolium hydrogen sulfate (Fe3O4-IL-HSO4) were synthesized and used as efficient magnetic catalysts for the regioselective thiocyanation of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds at room temperature in Water: Ethanol. This procedure provided the target thiocyanates after short reaction times in good to excellent yields and high regioselectivity.The catalyst can be readily isolated by using an external magnet and no obvious loss of activity was observed when the catalyst was reused in seven consecutive runs. The mean size and the surface morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, SEM, VSM, XRD and FTIR techniques.