Application of the nanocatalyst with re-usability properties increases the efficiency and reduces the operational costs. The nanocatalyst has been synthesized and investigated at laboratorial scale.
According to Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC), in this research, a magnetic catalyst was synthesized on iron nanoparticles, which is able to convert aromatics to thiocyanate in a selective manner by reducing the number of side reactions. Thiocyanate is a group of organic materials that is used in the production of medications and drugs.
Although there are numerous methods to synthesize thiocyanate from aromatics, the majority of methods require harsh operational conditions, including toxic solvents, long reaction time, separation and purification of the products. These methods have low efficiency despite the long reaction time; therefore, it is necessary to overcome the abovementioned problems.
The nanocatalyst enables the reaction to take place at room temperature, and it decreases the reaction time while increasing the efficiency. In addition, the catalyst can be recycled by using external magnetic field after the reaction, and it can be reused a few times without any significant changes in its activity.
Cheap materials with easy portability have been used in the production of ion liquid catalyst based on nanoparticles. Therefore, the absence of toxic solvents and execution of green chemistry principles are among the other advantages of this research.
Results of the research have been published in Journal of Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran, vol. 26, issue 3, 2015, pp. 233-240.
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