Highly efficient protocol for the aromatic compounds nitration catalyzed by magnetically recyclable core/shell nanocomposite

An efficient protocol for the nitration of aromatic compounds in the presence of a catalytic amount of sulfuric acid-functionalized silica-based magnetic core/shell nanocomposite was reported. The designed products were obtained in high yields in relatively short reaction times at room temperature under solvent-free conditions. The nanocatalyst was simply recovered from the reaction mixture by using an external magnet and efficiently reused for several times. The characterization of particle size, morphology and elemental analysis of the nanocatalyst were provided by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses, respectively.