Antimony-Modified Nickel Ferrite: An Efficient Magnetically Nanocatalyst for Knoevenagel Condensation of Aryl Aldehydes with Malononitrile

Benzylidene malononitriles (BMN) are one of the valuable organic intermediates which are utilized for synthesis of biologically active materials such as enzyme inhibitors, carbohydrates and heterocycles [1-3]. In addition, certain derivatives of benzylidene malononitriles have also been exhibited various optical, electrical and biological activities. BMN are generally prepared through the condensation reaction of aryl aldehydes with malononitrile in the presence of a catalyst. This subject prompted us to prepare NiFe2O4/SbFx as an efficient reusable nanocatalyst towards synthesis of benzilidenmalononitrils in refluxing ethanol (Fig. 1). This method has the advantages in terms of mild reaction conditions, short reaction times high yields of the products and reusability of the prepared catalyst system.

Keywords:

Antimony , Benzylidenemalononitrile , Malononitrile , NiFe2O4