Pyridylmethylaminoacetic acid functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanorods as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 2-aminochromene and 2-aminopyran derivatives

2-[(2-Pyridylmethyl)amino]acetic acid (PMAA) functionalized Fe3O4 superparamagnetic nanorods efficiently catalyzed three-component reaction of malononitrile, aromatic aldehydes and phenolic or enolic components, such as α-naphthol, β-naphthol, dimedone or kojic acid, to synthesize a variety of chromene or pyran derivatives in good to high yields. PMAA functionalized Fe3O4 magnetic nanorods were prepared via simple coprecipitation from an aqueous solution of Fe^2+ and Fe^3+ ions using NH4OH in the presence of glycine, followed by subjecting with 2-pyridine carbaldehyde and then NaBH4-mediated reduction of in-situ generated imine. Obtained nanorods were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TGA, SEM, EDX, TEM, BET and VSM analysis.