Facile synthesis of xanthenes and bis(6-amino-1,3-dimethyluracil-5-yl)methanes using copper ferrite nanoparticles

In this paper, the production steps of copper ferrite nanoparticles via coprecipitation of Fe(NO₃)₃ and Cu(NO₃)₂ in aqueous sodium hydroxide solution are reported as an effective and magnetically isolable inorganic catalyst for the synthesis of a number of 1,8-dioxo-octahydro-xanthene and bis(6-amino-1,3-dimethyluracil-5-yl)methane derivatives. The catalyst characterization was performed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques. The CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles synthesized under optimal conditions exhibited remarkable catalytic activity for rapid production of the aforementioned derivatives (4–6 mol% of catalyst, H₂O, 60–70 °C). The utilization of benign aqueous medium at a mild temperature, easy workup, magnetic separation of the catalyst with high reproducible (8 times) along with the introduction of novel derivatives to the literature (12a–15a, and 12b) are other important achievements of this work. These factors have highlighted our approach to developing new, eco-friendly protocols.