Reusable Cu‐Poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐ethylbenzene) Complex as Catalyst for Chan‐Lam C−N Cross Coupling

A novel heterogeneous polymer supported catalyst Cu‐PVPEVB has been developed by complexation of CuI in the matrix of the polymer poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐ethylvinylbenzene). Characterization of the catalyst using different spectroscopic techniques revealed that the copper metal is bound through the pyridine substructure of the polymer. The versatility of the catalyst was established by utilizing it for Chan‐Lam coupling reactions in an eco‐friendly solvent methanol. High yields of C−N cross coupled products are obtained within a short time in presence of K 2 CO 3 and 10 weight % of the catalyst having 13.6 weight % of copper. The catalyst could be recovered after carrying out the reaction by simple filtration and reused. Additionally, among a variety of N‐ functionalized products synthesized during this study, an N ‐phenyl isatin derivative was found to be promising candidate as a fluorescent probe for detection of the Hg 2+ ion in aqueous acetonitrile solution.