Facile O-glycosylation of glycals using Glu-Fe3O4-SO3H, a magnetic solid acid catalyst

A new glucose derived magnetic solid acid catalyst (Glu-Fe3O4-SO3H) was synthesized in a convenient and ecofriendly manner and well characterized using FTIR, PXRD, EDAX, SEM, and XPS which showed the presence of Fe3O4 embedded on the surface of the catalyst along with -SO3H, -OH and -COOH functional groups. This new heterogeneous catalyst was studied for synthesis of 2-deoxy galactosides/glucosides with good yields and selectivity. Moreover, the catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction with an external magnetic force and reused for a minimum of four times without any significant decrease in the yields of the products after every recycle.