An Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/Schiff base/Pd complex as an efficient, heterogeneous magnetically recoverable and reusable catalyst for the N-arylation of O-alkyl primary carbamates.

A highly efficient and air-, thermal-, and moisture-stable nickel-based catalyst with excellent magnetic properties supported on silica-coated magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles was successfully synthesized. It was well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, vibration sample magnetometry, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, inductively coupled plasma analysis, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm analysis. The Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction between aryl carbamates and/or sulfamates with arylboronic acids was selected to demonstrate the catalytic activity and efficiency of the as-prepared magnetic nanocatalyst. Using the mentioned heterogeneous nanocatalyst in such reactions generated corresponding products in good to excellent yields in which the catalyst could easily be recovered from the reaction mixture with an external magnetic field to reuse directly for the next several cycles without significant loss of its activity.

An efficient, convenient and novel method for the selective mono N-arylation of primary O-alkyl thiocarbamates and primary O-alkyl carbamates with aryl halides and arylboronic acids in the presence of a recyclable magnetic Cu(II) nanocatalyst is described. A variety of mono N-arylated O-alkyl thiocarbamates and O-alkyl carbamates were prepared in good to excellent yields with a broad range of aryl coupling partners. The magnetic nanocatalyst can be easily recovered with an external magnetic field and reused at least five times without noticeable leaching or loss of its catalytic activity. This cost-effective and eco-friendly methodology has some other advantages, such as easy preparation of the catalyst, simple workup procedure, and easy purification, which makes this protocol interesting for the users in various fields of pharmacology and biotechnology systems.