A uniformly anchored zirconocene complex on magnetic reduced graphene oxide (rGO@FeO/ZrCpCl ) as a novel and reusable nanocatalyst for synthesis of -arylacetamides and reductive-acetylation of nitroarenes.

In this study, a crafted zirconocene complex on rGO@FeO as a novel magnetic nanocatalyst was synthesized and then characterized using FT-IR, SEM, EDX, VSM, ICP-OES, TGA, BET and MS analyses. Next, catalytic activity of the prepared nanocomposite rGO@FeO/ZrCpCl towards successful reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to arylamines using NH·HO (80%) was investigated. The examined nanocatalyst also showed perfect catalytic activity for reductive-acetylation of aromatic nitro compounds to the corresponding -arylacetamides without isolation of the prepared amines using the NH·HO/AcO system. Furthermore, acetylation of the commercially available arylamines to the corresponding -arylacetamides was carried out by acetic anhydride in the presence of the rGO@FeO/ZrCpCl nanocomposite. All reactions were carried out in refluxing EtOH as a green solvent to afford the products in high yields. The obtained results exhibited that the nanocomposite of rGO@FeO/ZrCpCl showed a great catalytic activity in comparison to rGO and rGO@FeO as the parent constituents. Recovery and reusability of rGO@FeO/ZrCpCl were also examined for 8 consecutive cycles without significant loss of the catalytic activity. This establishes the sustainable anchoring of the zirconocene complex on the surface and mesopores of the rGO@FeO nanohybrid system.