Copper ferrite nanoparticles catalyzed the challenging Diels-Alder reaction of aromatic chalcones with cyclopentadiene.

Copper ferrite nanoparticles efficiently transformed the unreactive aromatic chalcones into activated dienophiles for a Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene/isoprene as dienes. The best results in terms of rate of reaction and product yields were obtained in an eco-friendly solvent ethanol using 5 mol% catalytic loading. Substrate scope was also investigated for a number of chalcone derivatives, and all the reactions proceeded smoothly to provide the corresponding DA adducts in high yields (up to 89%) and good diastereoselectivities (up to >99%) with -preference.