Brønsted acid functionalized phthalocyanine on perylene diimide framework knotted with ionic liquid: An efficient photo-catalyst for production of biofuel component octyl levulinate at ambient conditions under visible light irradiation

•Successfully synthesized BAFPcPDIL heterogeneous photocatalysts and characterized.•Photo-catalytic esterification of alcohols with LA successfully carried out.•The catalyst shows admirable photocatalytic activity in the presence of 12 W LED light.•The numerical optimization examines the design expert software using RSM method.•Diesel blended with OL achieved admirable physical and emission properties.