Magnetically recoverable molybdate supported silica decorated ferrite nanocat (Fe–Si–Mo) and their utilization for reductive amination of carbonyl compound under benign condition

A magnetite silica-coated nanoparticle-supported molybdate catalyst (Nanocat-Fe-Si-Mo) was successfully prepared by simple co-precipitation techniques. The prepared nanoparticles have been characterized using FE-SEM, EDX, FT-IR, WDX, ICP-OES, TEM, and TGA techniques. Under benign conditions, the catalytic activity of the nanocatalyst was investigated for the reductive amination of carbonyl compounds; a greener methodology is presented that provides a simple and efficient technique for the production of secondary amine utilizing a recyclable nanocatalyst. Notably, 0.09 mg of the catalyst is adequate for the amination of carbonyl compound in the alcoholic medium at room temperature. Significantly, utilizing an external magnet, the nanoparticles have been readily removed among the solution with recovered a minimum of 10 times without losing catalytic activity.