In situ production of silver nanoparticles on an aldehyde-equipped conjugated porous polymer and subsequent heterogeneous reduction of aromatic nitro groups at room temperature.

In a metal-free procedure, chelating thiol groups and an electrophile react to assemble a robust, conjugated porous polymer with pendant aldehyde functionalities. These groups are able to reduce Ag(i) ions to generate, in situ, Ag(0) nanoparticles evenly dispersed in the polymer matrix. The Ag(0)-polymer composite enables selective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds as a heterogeneous catalyst, and can be conveniently recycled multiple times.