Quaternary ammonium functionalized Fe3O4 & P(GMA-AA-DVB) magnetic Janus particles as highly efficient catalysts for phase transfer reactions.

This work describes the preparation and catalytic performance of magnetic Janus quaternary ammonium phase transfer catalysts Fe3O4 & P(GMA-AA-DVB)N+(CH3)3OH- (MJPTCs). The morphologies, structures and other physical properties of the Janus catalysts prepared by a modified solvent thermal method were characterized by TEM, FTIR, TGA, VSM and XRD. The reaction of benzyl alcohol and benzyl bromide to generate dibenzyl ether was chosen as the model reaction to evaluate the catalytic activity of the MJPTCs. Besides, the influence of catalyst concentration and reaction temperature on catalytic efficiency was investigated in detail. The experimental results showed that the MJPTCs exhibited great catalytic activity with a conversion rate of 99% in only 2.5 h, and excellent reusability with a conversion rate of 97% after 8 cycles.