Reusable magnetic catalysed synthesis of fluorescent imidazole derivatives: Their use as chromogenic and fluorogenic probes for metal cation's detection

In this contribution, we report the design of magnetic functionalized nanocellulose by an in-Situ approach. The fabricated polymer matrix was utilized as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for one-pot multi-component synthesis of fluorescent multi-substituted imidazoles under green optimized conditions. The eco-friendly protocol afforded, short reaction times, excellent yields and catalyst easy recycling through magnetic recovery. The geometric optimization, MEP and FMOs have also been carried out at B3LYP-D3/6-311++G (d, p) level of Density Functional Theory simulations in ethanol to elucidate the substituent's effect on molecule's planarity, surface studies, their electronic structure as well as their intermolecular charge transfer. Furthermore, the synthesized multi-substituted Imidazole derivatives exhibited remarkable fluorescent properties explored in cation metal's chromogenic and fluorogenic detection.