Gold Nanoparticles Immobilized Polymeric PBI Derivative: Productive, Portable, and Photocatalytic System for Heck Coupling

Perylene bisimide (PBI) derivative 3 having thiophene moieties at the bay positions has been designed and synthesized which forms J -aggregates in aqueous media and these aggregates serve as reactors for the generation of Au NPs and themselves undergo oxidative polymerization through thiophene moieties to generate polymeric species 4 . The as prepared polymeric species 4 and gold NPs generated supramolecular ensemble 4: Au NPs which serve as promising photocatalytic system for Heck and multifold Heck coupling reaction. Moreover, the work being reported in this manuscript demonstrates the deposition of supramolecular ensemble 4: Au NPs on paper strips for preparation of “dip catalytic strip” as an efficient, economic, efficient, green, portable and recyclable catalytic system. The efficiency of this catalytic system is evident from its broad scope, benign reaction conditions, multifold Heck coupling, seven times reusability (in solution form) and eight times reusability (“dip catalytic strip”).