A novel functionalized graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets containing silicotungstic anion H3SiW12O40¯ (H3SiW), was successfully prepared by grafting of (3-chloropropyl)triethoxysilane (3-CPTS) on GO nanosheets followed by reaction with an excess amount of imidazole and finally interaction with silicotungstic acid (H4SiW12O40, denoted as H4SiW). The prepared material, denoted as GO-Imid-H3SiW, was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The activity of this new material as a novel catalyst was also evaluated in the synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthenes by reaction of dimedone with various aromatic aldehydes under solvent-free conditions. The results demonstrated a significant catalytic performance of the catalyst for this transformation under solvent-free conditions, giving high yields of the desired products over relatively short reaction times. In addition, the catalyst could be easily recovered from the reaction mixture by simple filtration and can be reused many times with no significant loss of its catalytic activity. تفاصيل المقالة