Pyridylmethylaminoacetic acid functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanorods as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 2-aminochromene and 2-aminopyran derivatives

2-[(2-Pyridylmethyl)amino]acetic acid (PMAA) functionalized Fe3O4 superparamagnetic nanorods efficiently catalyzed three-component reaction of malononitrile, aromatic aldehydes and phenolic or enolic components, such as α-naphthol, β-naphthol, dimedone or kojic acid, to synthesize a variety of chromene or pyran derivatives in good to high yields. PMAA functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanorods were prepared via simple coprecipitation from an aqueous solution of Fe2 and Fe3 ions using NH4OH in the presence of glycine, followed by subjecting with 2-pyridine carbaldehyde and then NaBH4-mediated reduction of in-situ generated imine. Obtained nanorods were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TGA, SEM, EDX, TEM, BET and VSM analysis.