Azobenzene homopolymers from reductive condensation of dinitrobenzenes.

Azobenzene homopolymers are synthesized by reductive condensation of dinitrobenzenes using Pd2Sn intermetallic nanoparticle catalysts under room temperature. We monitored the polymerization reaction using UV-Vis, LC-MS, and GPC. The optical properties are calculated by employing DFT studies. The HOMO-LUMO gap calculation gives a better understanding of the optical properties of the polymer. Furthermore, the intermetallic Pd2Sn catalyst represents a green process for the synthesis of main-chain azo polymers