Copper Schiff base complex immobilized on surface modified magnetite as a nanocatalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol

The presence of toxic dyes and nitroarene compounds in waste waters is of great concern as these are biologically and chemically stable; therefore, it is difficult to remove them by natural degradation processes [1]. Recently, magnetic core–shell nano-structures have attracted more attention due to their unique magnetic properties. In contrast to the difficulty observed in recovering and reusing most solid catalysts, core–shell nanostructure magnetic catalysts can be easily retrieved under the influence of a magnetic field and used in subsequent reactions. Due to this property, using magnetic core–shell structure composites as catalysts has been recommended in literature. Schiff base transition metal complexes have been extensively studied because of their potential use as catalysts in a wide range of reactions. These complexes have been extensively used for hydrogenation of organic substrates, epoxidation of olefins, conversion of epoxides into halohydrines, asymmetric ring opening of terminal epoxides and oxidation reactions [2]. In this work, a copper schiff base complex immobilized on surface modified magnetite used as efficient nanocatalyst for reduction reaction. The most important advantages of this work are high conversion, short reaction time, simple work-up procedure, use of non-toxic materials and environmentally benign. Moreover, the nanocatalyst could be separated easily from the reaction mixture using an external magnetic field and reused for several times without significant loss of its catalytic activity.