A new solid acid catalyst, consisting of 12-phosphotungstic heteropoly acid (HPW) supported on graphene oxide/silica nanocomposite (GO@SiO2), has been developed via immobilizing HPW onto an amine-functionalized GO/SiO2 surface through coordination interaction (GO@SiO2-HPW). The GO@SiO2-HPW nanocomposite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). The prepared nanocomposite could be dispersed homogeneously in water and further used as a heterogeneous, reusable, and efficient catalyst for the synthesis of benzimidazoles and benzothiazoles by the reaction of 1,2-phenelynediamine or 2-aminothiophenol with different aldehydes.
