Reduced graphene oxide/iron oxide hybrid composite material as an efficient magnetically separable heterogeneous catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of ketones

Reduced graphene oxide was synthesized and functionalized with FeSO4⋅7H2O to form a reduced graphene oxide/iron oxide hybrid composite. The hybrid composite was extensively characterized using various techniques. Its application for transfer hydrogenation of various ketones was studied. The investigation showed that it serves as a good catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of aromatic and some aliphatic ketones resulting in excellent isolated yields (97–99%) of products. It is magnetically separable showing good reusability. The products were characterized and compared with authentic ones. Here, we describe the development of a novel magnetically separable Fe based composite anchored on graphene oxide (GO). The composite was found to be quite effective for transfer hydrogenation of various ketones at 80°C in i‐PrOH producing excellent isolated yields (97–99%) of their corresponding products. In addition, the composite could be easily recovered from the reaction mixture using a magnet and reused upto atleast five consecutive runs without loss in its catalytic activity.