In situ production of silver nanoparticles on an aldehyde-equipped conjugated porous polymer and subsequent heterogeneous reduction of aromatic nitro groups at room temperature

Abstract

In a metal-free procedure, chelating thiol groups and an electrophile react to assemble a robust, conjugated porous polymer with pendant aldehyde functionalities. These groups are able to reduce Ag(I) ions to generate, in situ, Ag(0) nanoparticles evenly dispersed in the polymer matrix. The Ag(0)–polymer composite enables selective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds as a heterogeneous catalyst, and can be conveniently recycled multiple times.