A new recoverable Au(III) catalyst supported on magnetic polymer nanocomposite for aromatic bromination

This Letter presents a facile alternative synthesis of a recoverable Au(III) catalyst supported on Fe3O4@ SiO2 similar to MPS grafted by poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP). The solid magnetic support was prepared by anchoring 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS) onto the Fe3O4@SiO2 surfaces followed by free radical polymerization with N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone. Au(III) was immobilized onto the magnetic support in aqueous media to afford Au(III)/Fe3O4@SiO2 similar to PVP (catalyst 1). Catalyst 1 was characterized by FT-IR, TEM, VSM, TGA, XRD, and ICP-AES. The amount of Au in catalyst 1 was measured to be 0.64 wt % by ICP-AES. This newly prepared catalyst can catalyze the aromatic bromination reaction with comparable activity as homogeneous AuCl3. Moreover, the supported catalyst is easy to recover and can be used in four cycles without apparent loss of activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.