Pd nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous carbon: A highly efficient catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura reaction

•Synthesis of highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles in mesoporous carbon (Pd@MC).•The Pd nanoparticles are mostly in Pd0 state which is good for coupling reaction.•Mesoporous carbon helps to reduce the Pd source to Pd nanoparticles.•Pd@MC exhibits a high activity in the coupling of acyl halides with phenylboronic acid.

Mesoporous carbon functionalized with Pd nanoparticles (Pd@MC) was synthesized via one-pot method using SBA-15, furfuryl alcohol and PdCl2 as a template, a carbon source and a palladium source, respectively. The HRTEM image shows that Pd nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed on the surface of nanoporous carbon whereas the XPS spectrum of the catalyst indicates that Pd exists in the form of Pd (0). With a low loading of the catalyst (2 mol% Pd), Pd@MC shows a high conversion (100%) and selectivity for the desired product (>95%) in the Suzuki-Miyaura reactions of acyl halides with phenylboronic acid under a mild reaction condition. The catalyst was found to be highly active and no leaching in the reaction is observed. The catalyst can further be recycled for up to three times without loss of reactivity.

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