Synthesis of C3N4/Fe3O4/NiFe-LDH composite for efficient fabrication of dihydropyrimidinone derivatives

Abstract

A novel magnetic mesoporous nanocomposite, carbon nitride (C₃N₄)/Fe₃O₄/NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH), as a seriously efficient catalyst, was constructed via the growth of NiFe-LDH on Fe₃O₄ supported over C₃N₄ and it was analyzed using fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) techniques. The catalytic performance of the C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/NiFe-LDH composite was evaluated in the formation of dihydropyrimidinone derivatives. It has been confirmed that the C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/NiFe-LDH composite is very efficient for synthesizing dihydropyrimidinone derivatives. This is accomplished through reacting various aldehydes, ethyl acetoacetate, and urea, resulting in impressive yields of 91 to 96% without the use of solvents at 80 °C. The process requires a catalyst loading of 15 mg and takes between 5 to 15 min, making it an environmentally friendly method. Furthermore, C₃N₄/Fe₃O₄/NiFe-LDH has shown the ability to be recycled for five cycles.