A green protocol ball milling synthesis of dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole using nano-silica/aminoethylpiperazine as a metal-free catalyst

BACKGROUND: Ball mill is an effective, and green method for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds in very good yields. This method is a simple, economical, and environmentally friendly process. In this work, an efficient approach for the synthesis of pyranopyrazoles (PPzs) using ball milling and metal-free nano-catalyst (Nano-silica/aminoethylpiperazine), under solvent-free conditions was reported. RESULTS: The new nano-catalyst silica/aminoethylpiperazine was prepared by immobilization of 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine on nano-silica chloride. The structure of the prepared nano-catalyst was identified by FT-IR, FESEM, TGA, EDX, EDS-map, XRD, and pH techniques. This novel nano-catalyst was used for the synthesis of dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives under ball milling and solvent-free conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike other pyranopyrazoles synthesis reactions, this method has advantages including short reaction time (5–20 min), room temperature, and relatively high efficiency, which makes this protocol very attractive for the synthesis of pyranopyrazoles derivatives. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13065-023-00934-1.