Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions catalyzed by efficient and recyclable Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2–Pd(II) catalyst

•The Pd(II) catalyst is easy to prepare with low cost.•This new catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture to reuse.•The catalyst showed high activity for the Suzuki–Miyaura cross coupling reaction.

In this study, a novel Pd(II) complex functionalized core–shell magnetic mesoporous catalyst (Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2–Pd(II)) was synthesized by a simple cost effective procedure. It was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, and nitrogen physical adsorption. The Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2–Pd(II) catalyst offered high surface area and exhibited excellent activity towards Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of halides with aryl boronic acids in ethanol in air. The Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2–Pd(II) catalyst was stable, reusable, and conveniently recovered by applying an external magnetic field. Moreover, it provided 91% conversion after the sixth catalytic run. The Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2–Pd(II) catalyst examined in this study combined both the efficiency of a homogeneous catalyst and the durability of a heterogeneous catalyst. The results revealed that the Fe3O4@SiO2@mSiO2–Pd(II) catalyst is promising as a candidate for various Pd-based catalytic applications.