Modified zeolite immobilized palladium for ligand-free Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction

•Pd@desilicated ZSM-5 demonstrated in a ligand-free Suzuki–Miyaura reaction.•The introduced mesoporosity in zeolite showed higher activity in ethanol at 80 °C.•The catalyst showed excellent activity at very low Pd loading (0.02 mol%).•Interestingly, the catalyst could be recycled for at least four times.

A palladium-based catalyst supported on modified ZSM-5 was successfully prepared by a facile procedure. The prepared heterogeneous catalyst Pd@desilicated ZSM-5 showed an excellent catalytic activity at very low Pd loading (0.02 mol%) for the ligand-free Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions of various aryl bromides affording excellent yields of the products. The prepared catalyst presents good recyclability, over four catalytic cycles.

Graphical abstractThe heterogeneous Pd@desilicated ZSM-5 catalyst was prepared and showed excellent catalytic activity at very low Pd loading (0.02 mol%) for the ligand-free Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions of various aryl bromides affording excellent product yields in ethanol at 80 °C. The prepared catalyst presents good recyclability, over four catalytic cycles.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide