α-MnO2 nanocrystals supported on graphene oxide (α-MnO2/GO) was prepared through a soft chemical route and evaluated for the first time as a novel, eco-friendly and efficient catalyst in the coupling reaction of alcohols and amines to imines. The well-organized α-MnO2/GO was characterized using various techniques. The results show that MnO2 nanocrystals are highly dispersed on the GO sheets and interconnected with each other, leading to large available surface area, which greatly enhances the catalytic performance of conventional MnO2. Under mild conditions, the catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity and selectivity with O2 serving as terminal oxidant. Various imines can be smoothly obtained in good to excellent yield. Importantly, the catalyst is easily recovered and can be reused six times with no significant loss of activity.

An experimental study was carried out on the direct nitration of 1,4,5,8-tetraaza-bicyclo-[4,4,0]-decane to synthesize 1,4,5,8-tetranitro-1,4,5,8-tetraazabicyclo-[4,4,0]-decane (TNAD) with N2O5 catalyzed by acidic ionic liquids. Various ionic liquids, such as [HMim]X, [(CH2)4SO3HMim]X and [Capl]X (X− = pTSO−, NO3−, HSO4−), and various parameters such as equivalents of ionic liquid, molar ratio of N2O5 to the starting material, reaction time and temperature, and solvent were investigated. Ionic liquid [(CH2)4SO3HMim]HSO4 showed better catalytic activity. In the presence of 3% molar ratio of [(CH2)4SO3HMim]HSO4 ionic liquid to the staring material, the yield of 1,4,5,8-tetranitro-1,4,5,8-tetraazabicyclo-[4,4,0]-decane was improved by 6.2% compared to the system without ionic liquid.1,4,5,8-Tetranitro-1,4,5,8-tetraazabicyclo-[4,4,0]-decane (TNAD) was synthesized by nitrating 1,4,5,8-tetraazabicyclo-[4,4,0]-decane with N2O5 catalyzed by acidic ionic liquids under mind conditions.

The oxidation of terminal alkenes was smoothly catalyzed by a recyclable and environmentally friendly catalytic system: [(C18H37)2N(CH3)2]3[PW4O16]/H2O2/formic acid. This new catalytic system is not only capable of catalyzing oxidation of terminal alkenes with a phase-transfer character, but also under solvent-free conditions, avoiding the use of chlorinated solvents. Many different kinds of terminal alkenes could be converted to the corresponding 1,2-diols of high purity in high yields. The catalyst could be easily separated and reused after reaction. Both fresh and used [(C18H37)2N(CH3)2]3[PW4O16] catalyst was characterized by Raman and FTIR.The oxidation of terminal alkenes was smoothly catalyzed by a recyclable and environmentally friendly catalytic system: [(C18H37)2N(CH3)2]3[PW4O16]/H2O2/formic acid. Many different kinds of terminal alkenes could be converted to the corresponding 1,2-diols of high purity in high yields.

In this work, a new magnetically separable nanocatalyst was developed by covalent binding of a Schiff base ligand, N,N′-bis(3-salicylidenaminopropyl)amine (salpr), on the surface of silica coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4/SiO2) and followed complexation with Cu(OAc)2. Characterization of the prepared nanocatalyst (Fe3O4/SiO2/Cu(II)salpr) was performed with different physicochemical methods such as FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry. The prepared Fe3O4/SiO2/Cu(II)salpr catalyst presented high activity for selective oxidation of various alkyl aromatics with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant. After the reaction, the catalyst was easily separated by simply applying an external magnetic field.

A silica gel supported cobalt(II) Schiff base complex was synthesized and used for the oxidation of alkyl aromatics using molecular oxygen as an oxidant under atmosphere pressure. The catalyst shows a high conversion of alkyl aromatics and selectivity to benzylic ketones, and could be reused at least 5 times without significant loss of catalytic activity.A silica gel supported cobalt(II) Shiff base complex was synthesized and exhibited good to excellent activity in the aerobic oxidation of alkyl aromatics under mind conditions.

A mild, efficient and eco-friendly process for the electrophilic nitration is described using N2O5 as a green nitrating agent in the presence of rare earth metal triflates [RE(OTf)3] under mild conditions.

A selective and efficient process for the electrophilic nitration is described using N2O5 as a green nitrating agent, Hβ zeolite as a solid acid catalyst and shape controlling agent under mild conditions.

Electrophilic aromatic nitration using N2O5 as a green nitrating agent catalyzed by MoO3–SiO2 under mild conditions has been described. A series of MoO3–SiO2 catalysts with varying MoO3 loadings (5–20 mol%) were prepared by sol–gel technique and characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, BET and NH3–TPD to study its surface properties. MoO3–SiO2 shows good catalytic activity and reusability for the nitration of alkyl and halogen aromatics giving high conversions, but less efficiency for the deactivated aromatics. Reactions conducted under non-acidic conditions using N2O5 makes the process safe and environmentally friendly.