The Fe3O4 magnetic nano-particles were prepared, coated with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), functionalized with 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane (CPTMS), further functionalized with 2,20- (piperazine-1,4-diylbis(methylene) dianiline (PDMD) and the corresponding Pd complex synthesized as a novel nano-magnetic heterogeneous catalyst (Fe3O4@SiO2@CPTMS@PDMD@Pd) to be used for the synthesis of various N-monosubstituted ureas in water. Also, in another attempt to see the effect of HCOOH, the hydration reaction of arylcyanamide was carried out in the presence of HCOOH (water + 98% HCOOH) which had two effects: it decreased the amount of the Pd catalyst from 40 to 30 mg, and the reaction condition was changed from the reflux condition to room temperature. Interestingly, the arylcyanamides with electron withdrawing groups influence the course of the reaction and need more reaction times for completion which is an unexpected behavior, probably due to the high electron density around the central carbon atom of the nitrile group.
