Design of chitosan-dithiocarbamate magnetically separable catalytic nanocomposites for greener aqueous oxidations at room temperature

A Fe3O4-chitosan (Fe3O4-CS) nanocomposite was prepared using an in situ approach via co-precipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ under basic conditions, followed by carbon disulfide post-modification and subsequent functionalisation with NH2-Fe3+ functionalities. The multifunctional magnetically separable nanomaterial was employed as catalyst in the room temperature aqueous oxidation of benzylic alcohols in the presence of H2O2. Excellent yields to oxidation products (>90%) could be obtained under mild reaction conditions at short times of reaction (typically 2-3 h), with the catalyst successfully recovered by a simple magnet and reused at least for 8 runs without a significant decrease in product yields. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.