Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles supported on surface-modified poly(N-vinylimidazale) as catalysts for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Two types of bead-shaped stable heterogeneous nanoparticle catalysts, viz. polymer-supported poly(styrene) functionalized with poly(vinylimidazole) immobilized silver nanoparticles (PS-PVIm-AgNPs) were prepared from poly(styrene)-co-poly(N-vinylimidazole) polymer matrices derived from 2% (Type-I) and 10% (Type-II) cross-linking monomer divinylbenzene and AgNO3 as a metal precursor. The appearance of surface plasmon resonance peak at 422 nm in UV and AgN(str,ring) peaks noticed at 1664 cm−1 for Type-I and 1668 cm−1 for Type-II catalysts in FT-IR confirms the immobilization of AgNPs onto PS-PVIm. The SEM and EDAX results prove that the Type-I catalyst has heterogeneous morphology with more white patches and enhanced amount of surface nitrogen and AgNPs than Type-II. The size of the AgNPs on Type-I and Type-II catalysts was measured as 10 nm and 14.6 nm from XRD, respectively. The comparative catalytic study for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol reveals that the pseudo-first order rate constant (kobs) for Type-I catalyst was relatively superior (kobs = 5.12 × 10−4) than Type-II (kobs = 1.20 × 10−4) due to the addition of high cross-linking load in Type-II. For the same reaction with Type-I catalyst, the variation of [substrate], [catalyst] and [NaBH4] was directly proportional to kobs. The stability and reusability of the catalyst were observed good and sustained even at six cycles.

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► Preparation of two types of polymer-immobilized silver nanoparticles catalysts.
► The activity of the catalysts was assessed based on reduction of 4-nitrophenol.
► The 6 fold enhancement of kobs noticed in Type-I catalyst than Type-II catalyst.
► Stable, efficient, eco-friendly, easy to prepare and easily recyclable many times.
► Heterogeneous nanocatalysts can be conveniently packed into column/flow reactors.