Supercritical water assisted preparation of recyclable gold nanoparticles and their catalytic utility in cross-coupling reactions under sustainable conditions

Preparation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in environmentally friendly water without using any reducing agents under supercritical conditions is demonstrated. PXRD, XPS, FE-SEM and HR-TEM analysis confirmed the formation of phase-pure and crystalline AuNPs of the size of ∼10–30 nm. The catalytic potential of AuNPs was manifested through a generalized green procedure that could accommodate both Sonogashira as well as Suzuki coupling under aqueous conditions at low catalytic loading (0.1 mol%). The AuNP catalyst was found to be recuperated after the reaction and reused for up to six catalytic cycles with no leaching out of gold species as confirmed through ICP-OES analysis. With no confinement of AuNP catalysis to cross-coupling reaction, synthetic extension to one-flask preparation of π-conjugated semiconductors (4 examples) and their optoelectronic properties were also investigated. Other significant features of the present work include short reaction time, site-selectivity, wide substrate scope, high conversion, good chemical yields and applicability in gram-scale synthesis. Overall, the results of this paper signify an operationally sustainable supercritical fluid processing method for the synthesis of AuNPs and their catalytic application towards cross-coupling reactions in green media.