A novel heterogeneous biocatalyst based on graphene oxide for synthesis of pyran derivatives

Graphene oxide modified with tryptophan (GO-Trp) has been introduced as a new heterogeneous acid-base biocatalyst for synthesis of some pyran derivatives. GO was prepared according to the Hummer's method and tryptophan as a low-cost green amino acid is covalently bonded to the surface of GO without any organic or toxic reagents in a green way. The new catalyst was characterized by different spectroscopic methods such as Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction (XRD), etc. …. The results of XRD patterns showed an increase in the distance between the GO plates in the presence of the modifying agent which specifies the presence of amino acid between the GO layers. XPS analysis also confirmed successful modification through the presence of C-N bonds in the structure of the catalyst. In addition, improvements in thermal stability and changes in the morphology of the samples were observed using thermogravimetric analysis and Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis respectively. Evaluation of the catalyst performance in the synthesis of some benzo[b]pyran and pyrano[3,2-c] chromene derivatives showed presentable results. Seven benzo[b]pyran (4a-4g) and five pyrano[3,2-c] chromene (4h-4l) derivatives were synthesized. GO-Trp as a safe, natural and efficient catalyst, could be reused up to 5 runs for synthesis of pyran derivatives without any significant decrease in its potency. High purity of the products and desirable yields are other points that make the present work more attractive.