Cerium Supported Chitosan as an Efficient and Recyclable Heterogeneous Catalyst for Sustainable Synthesis of Spiropiperidine Derivatives

A new Ce/chitosan catalyst has been prepared and used for the highly efficient synthesis of diverse range of spiropiperidine derivatives via multicomponent reaction of substituted anilines, formaldehyde and different cyclic active methylene compounds at room temperature in PEG-200. The catalyst could be reused for five consecutive cycles without appreciable loss in catalytic activity. The structure of the catalyst was determined by IR, XRD, EDX, TEM and ICP-AES techniques. The present green protocol has advantages such as novel products, energy sustainability, short reaction times, high yield of products, economic viability and recyclability of the catalyst.