| In the present work, an innovative leach proof nanocatalyst based on dendriticfibrous nanosilica (DFNS) modified with ionic liquid loaded Fe3O4NPs andCuI salts was designed and applied for the rapid synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines from the reaction of phenyl acetylene, 2-aminopyridine,and aldehydes in aqueous medium. The structure of the synthesizednanocatalyst was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR), flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), energy-dispersiveX-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), vapor–liquid–solid (VLS), andadsorption/desorption analysis (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller [BET] equation)instrumental techniques. CuI/Fe3O4NPs@IL-KCC-1 with high surface area(225 m2g−1) and porous structure not only exhibited excellent catalytic activityin aqueous media but also, with its good stability, simply recovered by anexternal magnet and recycled for eight cycles without significant loss in itsintrinsic activity. Higher catalytic activity of CuI/Fe3O4NPs@IL-KCC-1 is dueto exceptional dendritic fibrous structure of KCC-1 and the ionic liquid groupsthat perform as strong anchors to the loaded magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)and avoid leaching them from the pore of the nanocatalyst. Green reactionmedia, shorter reaction times, higher yields (71–97%), easy workup, and noneed to use the chromatographic column are the advantages of the reportedsynthetic method. |