Magnetically separable ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles: A low cost and sustainable catalyst for propargyl amine and NH-triazole synthesis

Abstract The multicomponent reaction (MCR) strategy for the construction of important molecular scaffolds is in trending nowadays and among them, A3-coupling stands in a significant position. Aldehyde, amine and alkynes are coupled in this particular reaction via C-H activation process. Herein, we have reported zinc ferrite nanoparticles as magnetically separable heterogeneous catalyst for A3-coupling reaction with attractive attributes like excellent productivity, selectivity and better reusability. Moreover, the catalyst can also be effectively applied for the synthesis of various NH-triazoles with quantitative yields of the products. A plausible mechanism has been proposed for the synthesis of NH-triazoles followed by validation with computational study.