Synthesis and characterization of NiFe2O4@Cu nanoparticles as a magnetically recoverable catalyst for reduction of nitroarenes to arylamines with NaBH4.

In this research, a simple and efficient method for synthesis of magnetically separable NiFe2O4@Cu nanocomposite under co-precipitation conditions was described. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analyses confirmed the construction of NiFe2O4@Cu nanoparticles. The prepared core-shell nanocomposite showed a satisfactory catalytic activity for NaBH4 reduction of nitroarenes to arylamines. All reactions were carried out in a mixture of H2O-EtOH (1.5:0.5mL) within 1-12min under reflux conditions. The Cu nanocatalyst can be easily separated by a magnet and reused seven consecutive runs with no obvious loss of activity.