Magnetic Nanoparticles Immobilized Copper(I) Complex: A Novel and Highly Active Catalyst for S-Arylation of Heterocycles

Diaryl sulfides are known as valuable intermediates in the production of various useful compounds, including antibacterial, antifungal, anti-ulcer and anti-hypertensive agents. In this paper, we developed a new and ecofriendly nanomagnetic catalyst for the synthesis of diaryl sulfides containing imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, benzoazole, pyrimidine and oxadiazole scaffolds through C–H bond sulfenylation of imidazopyridines. Fe₃O₄@AMBA–CuI nanocatalyst was successfully constructed through the immobilization of CuI on the surface of magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles modified with 3-amino-4-mercaptobenzoic acid (AMBA). FT-IR spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD, VSM, EDX elemental mapping and ICP-OES techniques were applied to characterize the structure of the as-fabricated Fe₃O₄@AMBA–CuI nanocatalyst. Recycling of the Fe₃O₄@AMBA–CuI nanocatalyst was performed up to eight times without significant loss in activity; VSM and ICP-OES techniques confirmed that the stability and high magnetic nature of recovered catalyst.