NiCo2O4 nanoparticles: an efficient and magnetic catalyst for Knoevenagel condensation

The Knoevenagel condensation reaction has wide applications ranging from the manufacture of basic chemicals to pharmaceutical intermediates. In this study, we developed an efficient and magnetic bimetallic NiCo 2 O 4 nanocatalyst by co-precipitation. When used in the Knoevenagel condensation between various benzaldehydes and malononitrile, the catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance with 99% conversion and 99% selectivity under mild conditions. It can be easily recovered with a magnet and recycled for 20 runs without significant loss of activity. We expect that the catalyst will find large-scale industrial applications.