Polydimethylsiloxane sponge supported DMAP on polymer brushes: Highly efficient recyclable base catalyst and ligand in water.

Graphical abstract PDMS sponge supported DMAP on polymer brushes can be used as highly efficient recyclable base catalyst and ligand for various organic transformations and provide much better catalytic activities and selectivities than free DMAP in water. Highlights • PDMS sponge DMAP has high catalytic activity and selectivity in water. • The polymer brush nano-structures on sponge can provide excellent reactive sites. • The catalyst's easy preparation by solid-phase synthetic strategy. • Recyclable catalyst and ligand, and easy to scale up by a flow reactor. • This hydrophobic PDMS sponge will be an excellent catalyst carrier in water. Abstract The successfully developed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, a stable hydrophobic polymer material) sponge supported DMAP can be used as base catalyst and ligand to facilitate a series of organic transformations with high efficiency and good reusability in water. This PDMS sponge DMAP can provide much better catalytic activities and selectivities than free DMAP in water. Through an easy-to-build continuous flow reactor, the PDMS sponge DMAP facilitated reactions can be facilely scaled up. This porous hydrophobic PDMS sponge material will be a promising carrier for the development of highly efficient recyclable catalysts in water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]