gold nanodots self-assembled polyelectrolyte film as reusable catalyst for reduction of nitroaromatics

Separation of homogeneous catalyst from the reaction mixture is a crucial and difficult process in any catalytic process. to address this issue, a new class of multifunctional catalyst in the form of film was developed using a facile approach to enjoy the advantages of homogeneous catalyst with the versatility of heterogeneous catalyst. to achieve the same, methionine-capped gold nanodots (aunds) were self-assembled on a cationic polyelectrolyte modified glass plate for the catalytic reduction of nitro functional groups in the presence of olefinic double bond at mild conditions. separation of this reusable catalytic film from the reaction mixture is very simple and advantageous when compared to the currently available and conventional catalytic systems. kinetics of nitro reduction was monitored using absorption spectroscopy and the product formation was confirmed by 1h and 13cnmr analyses. prepared aunds catalyst was characterized using uv-vis spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (xps), x-ray diffraction (xrd), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (hrtem), cyclic voltammetry and atomic force microscopy (afm) techniques. graphical abstract: synopsis colloidal gold nanoparticles are efficient catalysts for organic reactions. but the removal of homogeneous gold colloids from the reaction mixture is very difficult. to address this issue, gold nanodots were synthesized and self-assembled over polyelectrolyte film to form catalytic plates. removal of these reusable catalytic plates from the reaction mixture is facile.[figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2018, indian academy of sciences.